Manchester’s Maruja have announced the release of The Holy Inadequate, a new live album recorded during their headline shows at Manchester’s O2 Ritz and London’s Electric Ballroom in support of their acclaimed debut album Pain to Power. Capturing two of the band’s most significant performances to date, the album documents a remarkable period for Maruja, whose uncompromising, transcendent live shows and message of solidarity, collective action and love have seen them build an increasingly devoted international following.
Released in September 2025 via Music for Nations, Pain to Power was met with widespread acclaim from both critics and fans alike. The album followed a relentless period of touring which saw the band play sold out tours across Asia, North America, the UK, Ireland and Europe throughout 2025, culminating in their biggest headline performances to date. Whilst the year marked a huge breakthrough for Maruja globally, the intense physical and emotional demands of their live show ultimately took their toll on the four-piece, leading to burn out and a forced period off the road. For a band whose music challenges the very systems within which they are forced to operate, their experience raises questions about the arguably radical act of being an artist in a culture that increasingly measures creative expression in commercial terms.
Speaking about The Holy Inadequate, Maruja explain:
“2025 was a beautiful and brutal year for us. We recorded and released Pain to Power amidst playing 109 shows. We are endlessly grateful to do what we love, and to the fans who continually renew us through their presence at our live shows, giving their time, bodies and hearts to connect with us and each other through the music.
We also feel a responsibility to speak honestly about the realities of this industry and the toll it takes on musicians. Ecstatic highs are met with precarious lows of life on the road. Navigating the industry’s many challenges while living our own complex lives led us to burnout at the end of 2025. This album also speaks to the contradiction of moving the human experience of music and connection through the unforgiving funnel of capitalism.
Returning to the road in 2026, we played our rescheduled shows, festival stages and events whose purpose humbled us. From raising funds for Gaza at Jeremy Corbyn’s Bulletproof Festival to honouring the history of live music at the 100 Club’s 50th anniversary of punk. It has reaffirmed why we do this. At our shows, we can stand physically alongside one another and our audience in solidarity with Palestine, Sudan, the Congo, Yemen, Ukraine and all people who teach us resilience through their continued resistance in the face of imperialist violence.
This album is a thank you to those who support us but have never seen us live and gives them a chance to witness the energy of our shows. It is also a love letter to those who have seen us and gives them a vessel to relive the chaos and euphoria whenever they need it!.”
Maruja are Harry Wilkinson (vocals/guitar), Joseph Carroll (sax), Matt Buonaccorsi (bass) and Jacob Hayes (drums).
Tracklist – The Holy Inadequate
Intro
Bloodsport
Trenches
Break the Tension
Zeitgeist
The Reckoning
Thunder
Born to Die
Saoirse
don Phalastín
The Invisible Man
Look Down on Us
Resisting Resistance
Maruja Live Dates
April
30 – O2 Victoria Warehouse, MANCHESTER w/GOAT
June
27 – Primavera Sound, PORTO
For full details on The Holy Inadequate please check Maruja’s website.
For more information on Maruja please check their instagram and facebook.
