Search - Mae :: Everglow

"The Everglow" outshines them all

Dylan Lea Sexton | Athens, GA | 11/11/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In 2005 Mae released their second album, known as The Everglow. This concept album is a phenomenal work of musical genius that tells the story of a young man's journey to find true love and purpose in his life, or the "Everglow." What the listener experiences along the way is a roller coaster of emotions ranging from anger and sadness to joy and liberation. The songs also mention issues of love affairs, pregnancy, abortion and impatience. The Everglow connects with all of its listeners in some emotion, some issue, or some desire which makes it more than a concept album, and more of a universal album of emotion, sensation and wonder.

After first hearing this album about three years ago, the only thing that kept me really into this album was the music. All of the songs with the exception of the prologue, epilogue, and first and last tracks fit neatly within the alternative rock genre. It is the rhythm guitar that keeps most of these songs going. In a sense, this guitar is like a car that carries the listener through the song as it progresses. The vocals echo in the ear of the listener as the tapping of the drums add that needed roughness that rock has. Yet in all of the songs there is a portion of piano which gives the song grace, beauty, and even mystery. This piano feature calmly introduces the listener with the prologue and We're so far away and then lets the listener go with the tune The Sun and the Moon. Another key quality to the songs is the various sound effects that are put at the beginning or end of songs, which allow for excellent segues to the next song, thus keeping the "journey" going along smoothly. Aside from those songs, each of the eleven songs that make up the album have a special tonal quality that sets it apart from the others.

The messages that the songs give away is another important element to this album. From repeatedly listening to this album, it would seem as though the lyrics are about a young couple who get separated, come back together and then have to cope with the responsibilities of maturity (i.e. premarital sex, pregnancy, birth complications and finally happiness).Although the meaning of the lyrics may get confusing it is the sensory details that they give off which influence the listener the most. The lyrics and the music thus come together and form a more sensory based image for the listener to interpret. For example, what comes to mind when words or phrases such as "when did the clock stop running"(from This is the Countdown) "The Air gets cleaner" (from Anything), and "Just like the Sun, but more like the moon"(from The Sun and the Moon) are spoken? Mae is trying to focus on getting the attention of the senses so that the listener can experience the music in a deeper quality. This intense imagery put in poetic form allows for not only a good sounding song, but also a song that cannot be heard just once to get a clear meaning. It is almost like these songs are set up like the second period Beatles' songs in which one must listen to them rather than dance or enjoy them. However complex Mae makes the lyrics, they still seem to fit well with the music, which makes the songs enjoyable to the viewer.

It is very hard sometimes for me to find the "right" sound in a song or album, but Mae excellently makes the grade. Their songs have emotional qualities to each of them that I can always synchronize with. This is the Countdown and Painless carry an defining tag of impatience and insensitivity respectively, both of which I had to endure during my early teenage years. I am just so amazed at how even to this day this album always seems to relate to me in some way. That relationship of feeling makes this piece of music timeless. It is this quality that will allow this album to reach out to many people of the world who are suffering by relating to their condition and letting them know that they are not alone in this struggle. Just like vocalist Dave Elkins says in Breakdown "There's a world that this song could mend."

Mae has developed a custom sound in their second album The Everglow that is truly illuminating because of its affects on the listener. Both the music and the lyrics that the band sings are enjoyable and stimulating, giving the music a double standard in style. Apart from that this music has a unique sound that I can relate to emotionally, which is a feat in itself. One could say that this album is just another rock song album with a concept, but unless he or she listens to it and experiences the "everglow" that the band is singing about, then that person has been "left in the dark."







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