Lovely Little Lonely by The Maine Track by Track
Tags: Track By Track, 8123, Album Review, The Maine, Music Breakdown

Release Date: April 7, 2018

Overall Rate: 4.5/5

After eleven years as a band, the Arizona quintet called The Maine know how to balance themselves out. Vocalist John O’Callaghan, guitarists Jared Monaco and Kennedy Brock, bassist Garrett Nickelsen, and drummer Pat Kirch have it down to a science. Lovely Little Lonely is their most unified effort to date; a cohesive piece of music that must not be listened to on shuffle. Each track on the record fades into the next and it demands to be heard in the order the band established for it. Between some songs, you’ll get a break to catch your breath until the next track is up on deck.

The album opens with guitars; clean, polished, and simple. John’s voice enters next with the words “Here’s to now, and to nothing else”, a reassuring message for anyone who’s worried about anything at first listen. “Bad Behavior” hits hard. The drums are fast, the guitars melodic. The song is reminiscent of a wild night out, of one night stands that lead to complex regrets and smeared lipstick on the collar of your new white T-shirt. “Stay soft, but don’t be gentle,’’ John says. You’ll take the advice he doles out on this record to heart. At least I did.

“Lovely” is the interlude between two of the more fast paced songs on the record. It has no lyrics. It’s complex white noise and ambient, but it’s so vital to the experience of listening to the record. You’re then launched headfirst into fan-favorite “Black Butterflies and Deja Vu”. Images flood your brain when this song plays, and its purpose is clear. This is a love song, but it’s fine with admitting this as a fact. It won’t be bashful. It’s a love song and a damn good one. “Taxi” opens with acoustic guitars and dark lyrics. “Is the sadness everlasting?” The song is clearly about depression, but it hides it with imagery and reassurances. The melody is upbeat, with rhythmic drums keeping your heartbeat in time. John says you won’t be alone, once again serving as the therapist in your corner.

“Do You Remember? (The Other Half of 23)” serves as the modern “We All Roll Along” (a song placed on the band’s first full length, Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop) on the band’s sixth studio album. Nostalgic of their youth and of when they were “golden”, the song is once again equally melancholic and upbeat. The drums fade out into “Little”. This song features drums, a melody, and a voice.. “I genuinely hope you find whatever it is you’re looking for. Even if you have to find it alone.”

The fade out motif rolls along with “The Sound of Reverie”, which opens with more acoustic guitars. “Let’s fall back in love with the world and who we are,’’ John sings on this one. The instruments compliment each other perfectly here. The choruses are louder, but the verses are soft. A walking bassline mixed with Kirch’s recognizable drums; “Lost in Nostalgia” is simple. A rhythmic bass part, a few lyrics, and constant drums. This other sort of interlude, but a less obvious one. The message is clear. “Focus on the present, but not yet the future. Forget the past. Live in the now.”

“I Only Wanna Talk to You” is another love song. It’s simple and heartfelt, a perfect mixture of hope and despair. It’s melodic and methodical, everything a good song by The Maine is. The band is consistent, delivering song after song that compliment each other. “Lonely” is the final interlude. The “lovely little loneliness would hold me down under the sound of being found”. The sentiment is elemental. The darkness isn’t forever. Light will come to you eventually, when the timing is right.

“How Do You Feel?” is the closing track. It’s analytical. It will have you soul searching and trying to put the pieces of your life back together in the middle of the pit. But it’s dance worthy. It has a faster tempo then a song that you’d expect with it’s lyrics.

Find yourself and lose yourself to this record. Fall in love with it and maybe even out of love for it. Drive to it. Run away with someone to it. Fall in love with yourself. This album will change you. This record is methodical and crafted with care. Treat it as so.