Single Review: The Marias – Run Your Mouth

By Max Cartwright, contributor

[Atlantic Records; 2024]

Rating: 9/10

Run Your Mouth is the lead single off of The Marias’ upcoming album, Submarine, which comes out this summer. It also serves as their first solo musical release in almost 3 years. This song retains the same groovy psychedelic-soul and alt-pop sounds of their debut album, Cinema, and is also their most upbeat song to date.

The Marias also confirmed in an interview that “Run Your Mouth” would be the most upbeat song off of their new album. “Dance while you can, the next ones might make you cry,” was a caption off of one of their instagram posts from March 7, alluding to the fact that the rest of their album is likely going to sound more subtle and dreamlike, as some of their previous works are.

In the lyrics, lead singer, Maria, is talking to a person and saying how they make every situation or argument her fault, and she never seems to be able to speak for herself since they love to run their mouth. In the chorus she says, “I don’t wanna listen / when we talk about / everything that happened / rather sit around / don’t need another lesson.” This again is alluding to the person trying to teach her how to be better, though the teacher never seems to notice they have problems of their own. Her annoyed emotion is carried through a verse where she expresses, “You’re on my case / won’t you stop with that look on your face / and I can’t believe / that you only hold me when I’m on my knees.” That last line makes it pretty clear what Maria is referring to, only making this antagonist seem like an even worse person.

The single was also accompanied by a music video. The video is very aesthetically pleasing, with some seamless transitions and a simple, yet attractive color palette. There is usually a pop of one color against a white background until we get to an interesting sequence that holds the viewer’s attention. This part of the video holds viewers attention in a couple different ways, as it is the most colorful and, to me, resembles a Madagascar scene where the animals are getting shipped to Africa, if anyone remembers that. More scenes from the video include the band ‘performing’ the song, with Maria often on the ground singing into her mic showing how she doesn’t care when the person talks on and on.

I really enjoyed listening to this song, as it makes sense with their discography yet has unique production changes that mark the start of their new era. If you have or have had anyone in your life that you wish would just shut up, this is the perfect song for you. I certainly think fans of The Marias, and their respective genres, will enjoy the song. Overall, this is an exciting and danceable track that you could see yourself dancing to alone in your room, or with friends. If you enjoyed this song, keep a lookout for their new album, Submarine, out May 31.

Listen here: