After releasing her album Luster on the legendary label 4AD, opening for the shoegaze pioneers My Bloody Valentine, and launching her own European tour in early 2026, Maria Somerville is headed to the SAT on March 20.
A singular figure on the contemporary dream pop scene, the Irish musician weaves intimate music tinged with shoegaze and hazy atmospheres. Balancing softness and melancholy, she transposes memories of her native Connemara into a world entirely her own: swirling electronic textures, ethereal guitars, minimalist percussion, and hushed vocals seem to float like misty recollections.
With the album Luster, she ushers in a new artistic and stage era, brought to life through hypnotic live performances. A suspended experience, on the edge of a dream.
When Irish musician Maria Somerville began writing Luster, her landmark debut album on the 4AD label, it had already been some time since she had left her native Connemara. Having grown up among the wild, mountainous landscapes of the rural west coast of County Galway, she later moved to Dublin, where she patiently crafted an atmospheric dream pop signature inspired by the landscapes of her childhood – an enchanting sonic world of swirling ambient electronics, ethereal guitars, sparse percussion, and whispered lyrical vignettes. With this release, she ushers in a new era that will see her perform around the world in 2025, accompanied by a band.