Marley Guevara, the 22-year-old Utah-based songwriter better known as Maz, has officially released her debut EP NPC, out today via Winspear (home to acts like Wishy, Slow Pulp, and Barrie). Marking her arrival with a bold creative voice, Maz uses the five-track collection as a personal excavation—unpacking growing pains, emotional breakthroughs, and rediscovered purpose through quirky, genre-spanning indie pop.
“NPC is a collection of songs I’ve made over the past couple of years, during a time when I turned to music as an emotional outlet,” shares Maz. “These tracks reflect my journey to rediscover my lust for life and break free from the mental limitations I had imposed on myself. I’m excited to share—hopefully the audience gets a glimpse of the possibilities of my sound.”
Across NPC, Maz turns mundane moments and personal upheaval into glittery pop reflections. Drawing inspiration from Blondie, Santigold, and Daft Punk, she weaves sticky hooks and sparkling synths into bouncy basslines and percussive playfulness. Co-produced by Bobbing and Cole Williams (from Still Woozy’s production crew), the EP creates tight, textured soundscapes that allow Maz’s genre-bending artistry to shine.
Tracks like lead single “Kiss Kiss Boom”—a dazzling blend of talk-sung verses, falsetto refrains, bubbling synths, and trip-hop bounce—have already turned heads. The FADER, Paste Magazine, and Ones to Watch all hailed the track’s originality. Other standouts include the dreamy, rhythm-driven “Conundrums”, which evokes Tame Impala‘s layered psychedelia, and the infectious focus track “Circle”, which arrives today alongside a new video, spotlighting Maz’s knack for marrying quirky visuals with sonic ambition.
Maz‘s journey to this moment has been anything but linear. After building the earliest versions of NPC in her Salt Lake City apartment while juggling school and full-time work, she returned home to Logan following her grandfather’s passing. There, in her grandmother’s basement, she found both grief and clarity. “I found a lot of solace in music—it gave me freedom to reflect and unpack everything I was feeling,” she says. “And it made me appreciate the people around me and the opportunities and art I have in store for me in the future. It felt like a refresh button.”
That emotional reset powers NPC—a debut rooted in nostalgia and futurism, vulnerability and rebellion. Maz cites early 2000s alternative as a major influence, but she’s already carving her own sonic path. What started as a childhood nickname (inspired by a desire for “Maz” to be her middle name) eventually took on deeper meaning—a tribute to Mazzy Star, then a badge of artistic identity.
Having recently opened for Wallice on a West Coast run and turned heads with a run of performances at SXSW, Maz is poised for a breakout year. NPC proves she’s more than ready to level up.
Watch the official videos for “Circle,” “Kiss Kiss Boom,” “Too Bad,” and “Conundrums” now and stream NPC on all platforms.
Maz: Instagram | TikTok | Spotify | Apple | YouTube