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Jan 11, 2022 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Cailey Davern

Uma Bloo was originally a character singer/songwriter Molly Madden took on for burlesque performance. Now the moniker has taken on a new form as the namesake of the Chicago songwriter’s new project. Uma Bloo’s debut album, Don’t Drive Into the Smoke, is an unguarded meditation on the intersection of love, lust, and grief, delivered within layers of urgent indie rock. Uma Bloo has already shared “Never Know Me,” the strident first single from the record. Today the band are back with their latest single, “Marguerite’s Novels,” premiering early with Under the Radar.

“Marguerite’s Novels” departs from the defiant, dreamy art rock of “Never Know Me,” instead drifting between a swaying staccato waltz and a tremendous guitar-laden climax. Meanwhile, Madden’s singular vocal talents prove the perfect accompaniment to her off-kilter melodies and poetic musings. Her breathy vocals have a gripping emotional weight, conjuring sweeping romanticism, visceral heartbreak, and immaculate beauty.

Bassist Luke Blanco says of the track, “It may just be the name, but it is absolutely not a misnomer. This song is the sonic equivalent of finding a dusty book, unearthing it for the first time in 30 years. You used to love this book and fall into a romantic sense of nostalgia upon reading the opening paragraph. The verses and their staccato instrumentation are reminiscent of a plucked string section, conjuring up images of Victorian times, a time where you could only read the novel by candlelight. The final outro of the song, the most passionate and intense affair on the album, strikes a tear as it falls onto the yellowing pages.”

“The death of anything (a body, a relationship, a career, a core belief, etc) is nothing to fear,” he continues. “Death isn’t something we fully understand, but at least within the realm of the living endings aren’t anything but a catalyst for transformation.”

Check out the song below. Don’t Drive Into the Smoke is due out March 23rd via Earth Libraries.