Album Review — Mae

Mae — 3.0

I have a hard time categorizing Mae. They first start releasing records in the mid-90s and have been lumped in with the EMO crowd of that time period. I would compare them favorably to Anberlin. I’ve seen Mae live multiple times and they are a solid rock band. The band has recently come back together after a long layoff and 3.0 was released this week as an EP. I believe they have a full length record coming out in a few weeks.

Of the six songs on 3.0, “Our Love is a Painted Picture” is the oldest and closes the record. It was released over a year ago and I saw them play it live before it’s release. It’s mostly acoustic with some keyboard overlay. The previous song, “Space”, serves as a long instrumental open to “Our Love is a Painted Picture”. It’s very ambient and covers nearly 6 minutes. I would have preferred another song here over the instrumental intro.

The EP opens with “Sing” which has a little more electronica to it than I’m used to. But overall, it’s a cool song, although a little laid back for an album opener.

“Let It Die” is next and is one of my favorite songs of 2018 so far. This song is everything I love about Mae. Thoughtful lyrics, building and catchy with enough guitar to rock. Main songwriter/lead vocalist Dave Elkins is such a strong storyteller without sacrificing melody. “Let it Die” is the perfect example. My favorite lyric from the album — “Let it Die so that death can bring life again”. Fantastic.

“5 Light Years” is next and was the second song the band released. It doesn’t quite live up to “Let it Die”, but it’s a good song that sounds more like Mae’s latest recordings. “A Race for Our Autonomy” follows and is an acoustic driven song similar to “Our Love is a Painted Picture”.

Being such a huge fan of the band (I’m flying across country this week to see them play live) I really enjoy this six song release. “Let it Die” is truly a great song that makes this EP special. The band continues to grow and develop which I appreciate. I love their older stuff, especially “The Everglow”, but it’s important for bands to evolve and not just repeat themselves. Mae is certainly doing that.

I’m very much looking forward to the new full record but for now this EP will hold me over.

Overall — 90 out of 100

Track Listing

1. Sing

2. Let It Die *

3. 5 Light Years *

4. A Race For Our Autonomy *

5. Space

6. Our Love is a Painted Picture *

*Best Songs