Mae Singularity

Not to discredit Mae or, say, Dave Matthews Band, but Mae is a girlfriend band in the vein of Dave Matthews Band.

That's not to say it's bad; quite the contrary, actually, but you can't find a [girly] girl that doesn't like one or the other. It's actually my sister that introduced me to Mae ("a-MAE-zing." Direct quote.), hyping The Everglow until it wasn't just a record anymore. But The Everglow was and is bogged down by inconsistency, an experimental poppy alt rock that is more endearing and cute than holding any actual longevity. Still, there's always Suspension.

But with their release of Singularity, the members are showing their ages. Older and possibly wiser, Singularity doesn't necessarily follow the direction of its title, but it's a tighter and catchier Mae, one with a little less zest but a little more spunk; by toeing the line between their pandering Glow days and a more mainstream indie rock, they have surpassed being your girlfriend's favorite band and become a nice alternative to your fall out radio and marooned attention.

Gone are piano ballads and in comes a more electronic based underlining, but even those are downplayed to give an edgier guitar work the chance to smooth out the edges; Brink of Disaster kicks things off with that quintessential album build up; as close to that punk influenced chorus as they'll ever get, it flies close enough to the ground to be safe but rugged enough to be surprising. It's the choruses that stick out, from Crazy 8s' stadium rock to Sometimes I Can't Make It Alone's Metallica riffing sensibility. Tracks like Rocket are solid in their fluid transition from the jagged opening riff into a classical piano wrapped verse; it makes rock ballads such as Release Me more of a necessity without seeming like a cheap ploy to differentiate the linear style.

There are lyrical blunders, but you don't go into a Mae record looking for deep insight; there's some left field sexuality (On Top) and even a respectable song dealing with death by war (Sic Semper Tyrannis, translated to "death to tyrants"). Really, it's more of how emotional the lyrics sound as Dave Elkins belts them out. Try not to cringe when he mutters over acoustic guitar, "What is the one thing that'll make you bleed while you feel no pain at all?" He just sounds endearing.

Mae may be pushing it making their name an acronym for Multi-sensory Aesthetic Experience, since it's pretty two-dimensional to begin with. Even so, it's fun, it's quick, and their best work to date; just because it doesn't match the lofty heights of The Everglow's "concept" doesn't mean it doesn't surpass it as a greater sum than its parts. It may not last long while being just a summer "song" album to The Everglow's "album" album, but luckily for Dave and Co., summer's almost over anyway.