Review: "(M)orning" by Mae

First let me say this: I liked Mae before they were popular. That makes me super cool.

Let me say this too: I got bored with Mae before anyone else ever heard of them, which makes me lame.

When I first heard Mae, they were on a Tooth and Nail sampler and it was one song: "Embers and Envelopes" from their debut album on T&N. The song was one of three I really loved (along with "Foreign Language" by Anberlin and "Shine Like Stars" from Holland) and I quickly bought - and loved - their first album. But when "B-Sides" came out and it was more of the same, I was annoyed and decided not to buy any more of their albums...

So when Mae's superb record "The Everglow" came out several years ago, I saw it several times at the store (mainly Target, of all places) and I never actually bought it. It seemed too 'mainstream' of a release for my tastes.

I was an idiot.

I purchased "The Everglow" a few months ago and was really surprised by the quality of the songwriting. It is an album that you can put on in the background and do anything: work, washing dishes, cleaning - anything seems to go good with that album. It is just fantastic music.

So when "(M)orning" came out, I was ready to buy it on day one. There was some controversy online that said the band had changed and this wasn't a "true" Mae release, but I ignored the nonsense and downloaded straight away.

And I'm glad I did.

This album follows perfectly in the steps of "The Everglow." Some songs on it ("Fisherman's Song," I'm looking at you...) are so great that I find myself repeating themselves over and over. The songs aren't complicated - they're pretty straightforward modern alternative/emo - but they are so well crafted that I love listening to them.

And that's about the best praise I can give an album. This one hasn't grown old since I started listening to it several weeks ago. If you consider yourself a fan of modern rock (be it Christian or otherwise), I recommend this album to you. If all else fails, at least check them out on their MySpace page here.

Nice.