Destination: Beautiful by Mae

Mae
Destination: Beautiful
2003
Indie
Tooth & Nail

1. Embers And Envelopes
2. This Time Is The Last Time
3. All Deliberate Speed
4. Runaway
5. Sun
6. Last Call
7. Skyline Drive
8. Soundtrack For Our Movie
9. Summertime
10. Giving It Away
11. Goodbye, Goodnight
(also included is a 500x500 album cover .jpeg)

I'm a mess, I guess
It's what I've asked for
It's what I've needed
Well, you know me better than that
Or at least you did, then something happened
Well, once again, something's happened

"Sun"

A good word to describe the music Mae made on their first CD is "twinkly." They make some music that's just plain pretty. Unfortunately, they changed their sound after this record came out, and I don't get as much out of it as I do with Destination: Beautiful. Their style is kind of like a mixture of Brand New and Sigur Ros, to put it kind of vaguely. The vocals, melody, and song structure is still the forefront of concentration, but it's all put over a very busy soundscape of soothing clean guitar tones and whispering synths that beg for more attention while sounding both classical and poppy at the same time.

Mae doesn't get much recognition because they get stacked with all the other "small time" acts that call the music they make indie. The truth is, though, Mae has a very unique sound. Mae does a lot of things right that you don't hear that often. They have an excellent blend of a natural, flowing sound and synth-based electronics that sounds just right to my ears. Their vocalist has a very airy voice that almost sounds like a whisper - a lot of bands try to do this, but I think Mae pulls it off very well for the most part. Some sections of some songs are kind of iffy, but I think the rest makes up for it.

My favorite aspect of Mae's music though, is that it's great to listen to and fit almsot any mood. Their feel is almost a double meaning of both being overjoyed and heartbroken. It's hard to explain. Just check it out for yourself.

Click here to download part 1 (49.99 MB)
Click here to download part 2 (54.79 MB)

Buy it!
Digital Copy

I think the physical copy of this album is out of print. Lucky I got it when I did.