Best Ex, the project from Mariel Loveland, has slowly but surely built up a name for themselves over the last few years. The follow-up to Marial’s previous band, the wonderful Candy Hearts, this band serves to focus even more on the aspects of love and relationships that we all go through. The ups and downs, ebbs and flows, good and bad of putting yourself completely out there for somebody else. 2020 was the last time we got a full release from Mariel in the form of EP Good At Feeling Bad. And now, it’s time for a debut full-length!
It’s going to be called With A Smile and will be released on October 06 via Iodine Recordings/Alcopop! Records. Mariel had this to say about the record and what it represents to her:
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“I feel way more excited than nervous. To be totally honest, this is the only thing I have ever wanted.
“So many times, when I feel like I’m flailing around with no direction, the universe seems to give me exactly what I need. In this case, the month I was getting ready to think about recording a new single, Iodine Records randomly reached out to me and asked if I wanted to make an album. I honestly had been feeling like I may never get the opportunity to make a full length on my own—especially with how much the industry has changed since I made music with Candy Hearts. Of course, I said, ‘ABSOLUTELY YES.’ It feels like the world is giving me a second chance, and I hope fans will too.”
The artwork looks like this:
And the tracklisting like this:
01. “With a Smile”
02. “Tell Your Friends”
03. “Give Me a Break”
04. “Salt On Skin”
05. “I Promise To Ruin Your Life”
06. “Stay With Me”
07. “Die For You”
08. “Cut Me Out”
09. “What The Hell”
10. “Joyride (Glad You Found Me)”
11. “The End”
12. “Daylight”
There’s a new track for you to listen to as well. It’s “I Promise To Ruin Your Life“, and despite its brutal title, it is actually about the forming of a crush. A cutesy piece of driving punk-rock brimming with gooey-eyed sentiments and forward-facing predictions, it’s a self-aware and sensational love song.
Mariel had this to add about it:
“I write so many songs about heartbreak, but this time around, I just wanted to write something about that light, hopeful feeling of meeting a stranger you just absolutely adore. [Where you] peel your eyelids open at 3am because you don’t want the day to end.“
The record will also feature the previously released “Tell Your Friends“, which sounds a lot like this:
