If ‘Destination Beautiful’ was alive, it would be a cuddly puppy, just like the Andrex dog. It would be all wet and playful and lying in front of an open fire, probably after bounding around in the snow for hours on end. Feeling sick yet? Well Mae are quite possibly the cutest band I’ve ever come across – an emo kid’s wet dream. This record, released on Tooth and Nail, is a joy to listen to, giving you this strange sensation that you actually want to hug the cd rather than bounce up and down to it. Whether it’s the cute guitar riffs or the whispery, breathy vocals, this record takes the good things from Jimmy Eat World and adds a massive dollop of contemporary emo and pop, providing huge hooks and gaping melodies that soar in and around some massive choruses.
Although I’ve been excessive in my use of superlatives, Mae aren’t quite up to the standards of Jim Adkins and company just yet. The comparisons are obvious, tracks like ‘Goodbye, Goodnight’ smack of similarity, but for the minute Mae are detined to live in the shadows. There’s also a sense that this record is simply too gooey for its own good, with the saccharine sweet production leaving a bitter after-taste at times, but with songs like the awesome opening of ‘Embers and Envelopes’, you can’t help but fall for their charms. The aforementioned track swirls and beats in the opening verse before slowly suckering you in to a gigantic chorus which stomps and drives, giving a foot-tapping adict a quick, yet satisfying, hit.
Of course this is emo music with a capital ‘E’ and anyone who cannot stand the genre will be left wretching for weeks to come. You only have to look at the retrospective lyrics to realise this is a thinking band, with ‘This Is The Last Time’ proving that (“Don’t fake yourself into ever, ever thinking about yesterday/That was then this is now”). The quality tracks continue with ‘All Deliberate Speed’ and ‘Runaway’ both standout efforts. Mae are certainly going to be a band that will make an impact during the summer months as they create songs which beg for the stereo to be turned up with the windows wound down. ‘Last Call‘ and the chirpy ‘Summertime’ also leap from the speakers like salmon from the river, the latter especially is a song of anthemic proportions. But despite the many good points, ‘Destination Beautiful’ does borrow heavily from some of its peers. ‘Sun’ rips off Jimmy Eat World terribly, as does ‘Goodbye, Goodnight’. But when you realise this isn’t the most original of records, you’ll still come to cherish the fact there are standouts aplenty.
Mae certainly have something going for them and if you like your records drenched with pop overtones and laced with emotion, then this is the record for you. But be warned, anyone with a heart of stone certainly won’t be convinced to give this cute-as-a-button bunch a try.
www.whatismae.com
Tooth and Nail Records
Paul