Mae - Everglow
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CD Details
Artist: MaeEdition: Music CD
Format: Enhanced
Published: 2005-03-01
CD Release Date: 2005-03-29
Music Label: Tooth & Nail Records
Soundtracks:
- Prologue
- We're So Far Away
- Someone Else's Arms
- Suspension
- This Is The Countdown
- Painless
- The Ocean
- Breakdown
- Mistakes We Knew We Were Making
- Cover Me
- The Everglow
- Ready And Waiting To Fall
- Anything
- The Sun And The Moon
- Epilogue
Music reviews of Everglow
Music Review: Evidence that D:B was a better album.
Rating: 3 Stars
Total Grade: 87
(compared to Destination Beautiful: 94)
I feel I'm under a great deal of pressure for writing this review, since I have heard many mixed opinions on this album. Some of you have told me you think it was more or less a disappointment, and some others have told me that you "heard it was supposed to be really good - one for the record books." My intended purpose in this article is to strike common ground with all of you. For those who hate it, I hope to show you some things that make this album better than your average run of the mill emo-rock album, and even genius at points. And for those who love it, I apologize, but I am going to have to rain on your parade. I love Mae, I really do, but since I've listened to them ever since the beginning, I expect a lot of these gentlemen.
Here are some general character flaws in The Everglow. Once again, the best songs were prereleased on the internet, and for those of us who opened our proverbial christmas presents early, the rest of the gifts were let downs. Another problem: This album, much like my favorite after school snack of cheetos, is dangerously cheesy. Maybe Dave's vocals aren't quite as feminine and dainty as they were in D:B, but good grief, please never start and end an album with a narrator who volunteers to read books to children at the public library.
Another problem: over production. One of Mae's big selling points is their layered drum effects and synthesizer tracks, but perhaps they spent just a little too much time in the studio this time. I think they would benefit from a little bit more raw sound. Some of their guitar tracks could have used a dash more of treble, they are very subdued, dark and lack any hint of attack.
Also: Lose the damn tambourine. At least 10 of 15 song have VERY similar middle of the road rock tempos, with the tambourine player going to town in the background. He's your secret weapon, you can't pull him out as often as they do.
A comment for Jacob's drumming: It has been said that Jacob is truly a renaissance man. All of the conversations Ive ever had with him have been amazingly personal and even funny. He's an all around great guy. He has also been called by many, a pioneer in the world of percussion, even creating his own distinct style. This is true to some degree, because every song has a different, very compositional and very though out drum beat. His beat for the verses of "Suspension" are creative and fresh. I really enjoy and envy them. Yet! With all of these great things in mind, as you listen, try to compare each song's tempo with the one after it. They are practically all the same, save "the ocean" and "mistakes." Every single tempo floats roughly around the 100-120 tempo, nice and easy rock. There is only so much you can do with this range, and Jacob basically does all that he can. Although its something hardly anyone would notice, these songs would greatly benefit from extremes in tempo.
One last thought: If you are a pop-rock band, which Mae definitely is, the value of your songs comes from the melody. That is what pop is all about. The melody, whether its in the vocals or in the guitar line, is the core of the song, and it is what people judge when they are trying to decide whether or not they like the song. Oftentimes, you can tell a good melody if it sticks in your head, or if you catch yourself singing along once you've listened to the song 5-10 times. I'd venture to say that The Everglow boasts 5, maybe 6 songs, that fall into this category. Out of 15 tracks, that is a bad ratio. Compare it to either one of copeland's cds, where you can definitely find parts you want to sing to in every single song on the album. Basically it boils down to the theory of a good melody line, where to begin your line in relation to the tones of the chords youve chosen. Also, Mae tries to employ a ton of flat 7 chords all over the place, and this puts the melody in extreme jeopardy. For those of you who might be saying - "the melody isn't everything! What about the indie-esque qualities of Mae, what about their musicianship skills?" These are not mae's strengths. They are not an indie band. If you are going to play this type of radio-rock, you have to be aware of the success of your melody lines. Unfortunately, many of these songs fall flat on their face as a result.
"Prologue": 1 star
Just plain dumb. What an awful idea. "You'll know its time to turn the page when you hear this sound." Im not going to spend time here, but ugh. Big old block of cheddar cheese, is what this is.
"We're So Far Away:" 3 stars.
The only reason it gets three stars is because I really like the ending, when the guitars drop the tonic chord at the very end. Its a great opener, and really makes you anticipate what's coming next. The vocal melody also has some cool parts, but not much to speak of, especially not lyrically. I would imagine that a lot of people will be impressed with Rob's keyboard composition here. Well, first of all, if he was playing this on a real piano, it would sound five times better. Secondly, his technique is good, but people probably don't notice how generic these chords are. All he's doing is playing heavy fifths and octaves in the left hand, and chord tones in his right. Any classically trained pianist would laugh this composition right out of the building if he tried to pass it off as original piano work. He's got a nice chromatic climb around 1:52, which is indeed impressive, and the following section uses some different chords. I also enjoy the vocal harmony on the "everything is now ours" line, but the rest of this song is extremely predictable. If I wasn't a sucker for the heavy guitar at the end, I would give this song a 2.
"Someone Else's Arms:" 3.5 stars
I don't like songs that repeat the same lyric over and over for their chorus. But the music is slightly catchy. Cool little drum fill at the beginning, and I like the chord progression that starts us off. The guitars are actually surprisingly original throughout the whole thing, I don't mean the kinds of chords they are playing, because they are mostly power chords. But its the rhythm and the organization that's really interesting here. And how about that cool section with the flute and the acoustic guitar - and then... another huge drop, just like the last song. I love it. This song is fairly successful, although its nothing too memorable.
"Suspension" - 4 stars
The radio single, for sure. Very Jimmy Eat World. I actually would give the Bsides recording a 4.5, but this version is slightly worse. The guitars are muffled! You can hardly hear Zach's lead guitar. Why not make it crisp and clean like the last version. And on the b-sides version, Dave saved his high notes in the chorus for the end of the song, but this time he brings them out in the very first chorus. The drums are great, although they too could use some treble. This is one of those few catchy singable songs. Unfortunately for me, I 've had it since november or so, so it's lost its luster. Im sure you'll like it if you haven't bought this album already though.
"This Is The Countdown:" 3 stars
I really didn't like this song at first. If you are one of those disillusioned with this album, give this song another try. Im not sure its exactly singable, and yes, its haunted by that damn tambourine again. But, try playing it on guitar. The chord progression is very cool. Its in the key of Eflat, and the chords center around Cminor the vi. The verse goes: minor vi - V, minor vi - V, minor ii - IV, minor ii - V, then a quick flatVI before the chorus. The flat 6 is what makes this song so cool. Then the chorus is pretty straightforward vi-IV-V-FlatVI. They lose points for saying "the only way to catch the butterfly is never waiting for the wings." Other lyrics, pretty vague. But I really like the chord arrangement, for what thats worth.
"Painless:" 2 stars
This song had potential. I can't deny how amazing the intro is. I honestly don't know how they came up with that (maybe the drugs helped?). It blows up your expectations like a birthday balloon. The piano in the verse is actually very cool, all the parts hovering around Cminor once again. But if the verse is like a balloon on your birthday, then the chorus is like your mean next door neighbor who takes his fork and angrily pops your balloon. It is the reason this song is so awful. Bad move with the flat chords at after the crazy vi - I riff. It's completely unsingable and nothing shy of a waste of time.
"The Ocean:" 4.5 stars
One of the few redeeming songs. This is one for the mix tapes. You should see the artwork that accompanies the song in the lyric book. This little kid is sitting ontop of a whale, schoolbooks in hand, on a starry night in the ocean. The song is generally slow and romantic, accompanied by a very successful melody and poignant lyrics. "I need you here tonight just like the ocean needs the waves." Emo? Yes. But I'm a sucker for mature emo that delivers. I doubt this song is in the same ring as Jimmy Eat World's "For me this is heaven," or Soco's "konstantine," but it tries. If you've ever been to virginia beach, I can picture driving the oceanfront highway that goes up and down the coast when I listen to this song. Its just great.
"Breakdown:" 2.5 stars
This song begins the stretch of the album that completely bores me out of my mind. This is an attempt at a romantic love song, and when I took a look at the lyrics, I half way liked them. But man, the music just doenst do them justice. "Whoa-oh. Im waiting for the breakdown?" What does that have to do with anything. Its just semi-slow rock, with very light distortion, but heavy with guitar lines instead of open strumming. The chords are boring. This song is one to skip.
"Mistakes We Knew We Were Making:" 3 stars.
I am tempted to give it more stars than it deserves, because I really like the crazy time signature in the verses. The idea is that the guitars star playing a 3:4 pattern, and then the drums kick in and the snare falls on the 3 of every measure. But every 4th measure, they take a measure of 2:4, then follow with 3 of 3:4. So I guess you could call the time signature 11:8 switching with 9:8, if you stretched out the measure boundaries. Its a cool idea. But the melody once again, pretty much sucks. The bridge goes into straight 4:4, followed by this semi-catchy hook where Dave just sings "dadah-dadah." I sort of like that part, but otherwise, the song just doens't deliver. Lyrically, this song is about a seemingly unbreakable relationship between this guy and his girlfriend, and I get the feeling that they are trying to hint that this coupld had sex, then drove to the hospital to find out if the girl was pregnant or not. The lyrics leave us hanging, although I might guess that an abortion was the answer. This subject has merit, but the song could have been better suited for such a sensitive topic.
"Cover Me:" 2.5 stars
Another not-so-catchy song. But this might be another one I'd encourage you to give another listen to if you don't like the album so much. Its definitely for people who can appreciate theory when the lyrics and the melody just aren't cutting the mustard. The beginning is a pretty simple I-V-IV(minor iv leading to bridge) pattern, with Dave's vocals layered in octaves (sort of cool.) The chorus however, check this out. I - flat 6-flat 7 - I. It's almost like they're changing keys for two measures, those chords don't belong in the key of Aflat. But then it yields to F, the minor iv, and goes back into the original key for two more measures. Even with this, it wasn't enough to sway my opinion. This song still isn't so great. But pull out your piano if you feel like it, and try to play these chords. It was a good idea, but not much to speak of overall.
"The Everglow:" 3.5 stars
I'm a fan of this one. It follows all the rules, doesn't try any of that crazy flat chord crap. It doesn't jump and grab you ever, but after a generous amount of listening, I found myself singing in the car to it. Especially on the lyrics "I think that we've got what it takes to get this heart start beating again." I don't really know what this "everglow" that they speak of is, but I assume its something sappy and dumb. Oh shoot, they break out the tambourine at the end, don't they. Man, if this song was on a compilation or something, it'd be really good. But since its surrounded by songs that sound just like it, it blends in with everything else.
"Ready and Waiting to Fall:" 3 stars
"Drowning just as fast as I can." Cool image you got there. But it's all about a girl again... dangit. The music isn't so memorable either. The breakdown riff thing right before the verses isn't so bad. This song is just middle of the road. The triangle in the bridge is pretty neat. Sort of like a disco beat, with the highhat on the offbeats. Eh, I dont know, not much delivered here. I'd say move on to the next track, my favorite on the album.
"Anything:" 4.5 stars
My vocabulary is wearing thin by this point, but I really love this song. It's dramatic, it's mellow but it's hard, it's smooth but its rough. The big bell tolls in the chorus are very cool. The melody works, there's some slight vocal harmony too. The song slows down in the bridge, but then hits home in the chorus. They also do an acoustic chorus near the end before the final stretch. It's just catchy man. Thats what does it for me. It's emotional, heartfelt and catchy.
"The Sun and The Moon:" 2.5 stars
They're trying to do some konstantine-esque thing here. Doesn't really work. Its all been done before. The vocal harmonies are once again pleasant, but nothing sticks. It's pretty thick and sappy. "And it was just like the sun, but more like the moon." Hahaha. Oh well, they can't all be winners. The ending is pretty sweet though. They've been sticking to chord tones until uh oh, what do you know, that same flat 6 and flat 7 come back rearing their ugly heads (except this time their major triads, instead of minor). The song gets going pretty good by the end. The synthesizer drops in on the guitar, and some pretty cool bell effects. All in all, pretty flippin cheesy.
"Epilogue:" Negative 5 stars...
Just turn the cd off.
If you've read this far, please feel free to comment, disagree, bake me a cake, whatever you feel like. I enjoy good healthy dialogues about music. After all, it is my life.
Description of Everglow
On February 2003, Virginia Beach, Virginia introduced the world to the charming quintet collectively known as Mae. Not only was their debut album, "Destination: Beautiful" an instant success with audiences, but their live show proved their talent moved even past just writing alluring hits. Now two years of non-stop touring and collectively over 150,000 album sales later, Mae have released, "The Everglow," their widely anticipated sophomore album. Complete with both compelling and introspective lyrics along with beautifully developed musicianship, Mae prove flawlessly why they've been turning heads for years!Alternative Rock CDs
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