ALBUM REVIEW: Mae – Multisensory Aesthetic Experience

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It’s been over a decade since MAE (Multisensory Aesthetic Experience) have put out a full album of music, but I would say their newest effort, Multisensory Aesthetic Experience, released last Friday, November 30th, was well worth the wait! After parting ways with their major record label, they released three EP’s (M)orning, (A)fternoon and (E)vening, and called it quits for a while. This was the first full-length release since 2007’s Singularity.

The album opens with an upbeat track “Kaleidoscope,” with some piano and electronic elements, it perfectly sets the tone of the journey MAE is inevitably going to take you on. One of the best things about MAE, a core three-piece of singer/songwriter Dave Elkins, drummer Jacob Marshall, and guitarist Zach Gehring, is that throughout their own journey as a band they’ve managed to evolve without changing what fans enjoy. Orchestral at times, like the middle of the album with three songs clocking in at just over 6 minutes, “You Fall When You Hesitate,” “Our Love is a Painted Picture,” and “A Race for our Autonomy,” at times feels like a continuation of 2003’s The Everglow, arguably when the band was at their peak success.

There are many catchy songs on this release, some of my favorites are “Kaleidoscope,” “Sing,” the fun, spoken word track “The Overview,” which could have easily been the album opener, “Let it Die,” and “Simple Words,” that seems to be a throwback to sounds of their first album. It all ends with the electronic instrumental track “Flow.”

Overall, this is a perfect direction that MAE went in. They added some electronic elements to their sound but maintained the emo-pop/rock sensibility that helped launch and maintain their popularity within the genre. Look for them on tour in 2019! They are a band worth seeing.

Purchase the album by clicking HERE.


Photos: Mae at Middle East Downstairs 10/13/18:

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Matt