Manchester’s Maruja deliver a wild, cathartic debut with Pain to Power, a release that’s as urgent and ferocious as its title promises. Produced by Samuel W Jones and released on September 12 via Music For Nations, this album cements the band’s reputation as jazz-punk visionaries steeped in improvisational fire.

Across eight tracks, Maruja create a visceral soundscape that fuses noise-rock intensity, punk urgency, and chaotic jazz elements including squawking saxophone and industrial textures that reverberate with both frustration and defiant energy. Their music doesn’t just express discontent it channels it into a communal emotional experience.

The centerpiece, “Look Down On Us,” stretches nearly ten minutes and delivers a two-part statement: the first half unleashes a scathing critique of late-stage capitalism and oligarchs, while the second half shifts toward solidarity and hopeful resistance—“a cry against the one percent, turned into a call for collective action.”

Another standout, “Saoirse,” meaning “freedom,” is a solemn and defiant lament that stands in solidarity with Palestinian suffering. The track is a moving blend of grief and resilience, anchored by a lyric that quietly insists: “It’s our differences that make us beautiful.”

Live, Maruja’s power explodes even brighter. Fans describe their performances as “insane energy” and “a random Tuesday night outside their country turned wild,” with each member pouring everything into the tight, sweaty chaos.

Ultimately, Pain to Power is more than an album it’s an invitation to rage, reflect, and unite. Maruja emerge as a band unafraid to confront the weight of contemporary anguish while forging a music of empowerment and solidarity.