The Maine - Lonely Little Lovely Album Review

Story posted April 10, 2017 in CommRadio, News by Allison Wulfhorst

The Maine, though considered a rock band, create music that is entirely their own and it’s done in a way that only artists with true talent can achieve. This alone makes the group stand out compared to the rest of the artists within their similar genre. They have been a band for 10 years and on April 7, they released their sixth record, Lovely Little Lonely.

It follows a similar formula as their previous, American Candy, but takes a harder rock approach with a darker, but still positive, sound in terms of the instrumentals and lyrics. The overall theme they have created is growing up/maturing, which the men in the band are doing themselves. It builds upon that since it involves love and how that changes as time passes.

As well done is this record is, there’s one thing that doesn’t work: the transition tracks. “Lovey” and “Little” are both short and contain only instrumentals to transition from some songs on the album. “Lonely” is another one, which is a bit longer and has minimal vocals so it still has the same effect. This seems like taking the cheap way out and not just making three full songs.

“Don’t Come Down” begins the record off with the catchy guitars and vocals The Maine specialize in. They know how to write a catchy hook and chorus better than many artists. This track gives off the vibe of the whole record already.

Getting into the themes of the record, there are stand out tracks whose lyrics exemplify clearly what they are trying to get across to their listener. Some of them include “Black Butterflies and Déjà Vu,” “Taxi,” “The Sound of Reverie,” and “Do You Remember?”

“Black Butterflies…” and “Bad Behavior” sound like they could be about the same girl since the bad behavior vocalist John O’Callaghan discusses between them could be the déjà vu that he references in “Black Butterflies…” “Waiting on the right words/Just another lovesick afternoon/Black butterflies and déjà vu.”

“Taxi” tells another story about love and loneliness since it involves a conversation between the O’Callaghan and a girl. She is wondering if sadness stays with you forever, to which he responds with, “‘Love, I think it is.’” He tells her though that she won’t be lonely with him nor ever again, “Believe me when I tell you/‘Babe, you’ll never be lonely.’”

“Do You Remember?” and “The Sound of Reverie” are two tracks that invoke memories simply because of the lyrics and the feeling of nostalgia The Maine create with them both.

“Do You Remember?” captures memories because it specifically lists things that him and this other person did together. “Do you remember/Oh, the bayside/Out on rockaway in June?” This creates that nostalgic feeling of thinking about the past and the good memories that cannot be erased and a song like this brings back.

Although, “The Sound of Reverie” contains that feeling as well, since it talks about being in love at 17 and now being in love at their ages now. What’s different about it is it focuses on the future and not looking back at the past. Despite the good memories they shared, O’Callaghan wants to stress the bittersweet importance that is looking ahead to the future.

The final track of the album, “How Do You Feel?” does its job by wrapping up this tale of growing up. The lyrics, “You are alive, but are you living?/Are you complete or is something missing?” has a powerful meaning because whoever he is talking about isn’t a complete person. Reasons for this incompleteness could be because of a heartbreak or growing up, or both.

Overall, the songs that weren’t transition tracks are all wonderful and The Maine really didn’t drop the ball on this record. They continue to impress with each one and the listeners follow them as they mature as a band and as men with their sound and lyrics.

Rating: 8.5/10

 

Allison Wulfhorst is a freshman majoring in Journalism. To contact her, email akw5392@psu.edu.