Beat logo

Here’s to Now & to Nothing Else

The Maine's Sixth Album, 'Lovely, Little, Lonely'

By Kacie RiordanPublished 5 years ago 5 min read
Like

As The Maine's lovely, little, lonely album era is coming to an end, I've been reflecting on the album and listening to it more than ever. If you haven't heard of The Maine, or only know them from their Warped-Tour style music from 2008, then I highly recommend you give their newest record a listen.

Have you ever been to a live show? You know how it feels for the music to pulsate through your entire body. It's not just going through your ears; all of your senses are being affected. The bass beats hit the floor, shooting up through your feet into your chest. There's sweat everywhere, and not just your own—there's the sweat and smells from the dozens of people pushing into you in this crowded little space, and as gross as that sounds, all of that are unforgettable things that make the concert-going experience worth it. Shouting the lyrics to your favorite songs with a bunch of other people who feel the same admiration for a band you paid to see... it's unexplainable.

The Maine's sixth album, lovely, little, lonely is a record that makes me feel all of those emotions, whether I'm just listening to it in the car or being lucky enough to hear them play the record in its entirety on tour back in 2017.

After over a year, lovely, little, lonely still proves to be one of the most cohesive albums I've ever listened to. I've lost count on how many times I've listened to it, but I still haven't gotten bored of it.

John's lyricism has always been impressive, but it's much more intentional on this album. While most of the record's tracks, like "Black Butterflies & De Ja Vu" & "Bad Behavior" are strong contenders on their own, this album is meant to be listened to all at once, from start to finish. Each song transitions into the next seamlessly. Their "intermission" songs, each named after the album's title, are mostly instrumental, but they meld the theme and lyrics together.

I think it's a good idea to break down the album in chapters, similar to how the transition songs appear. "Don't Come Down" marks the beginning of the album, and I'd argue that it's a close second in the history of their albums' openers. "Identify," which starts out Pioneer, is really the only competition. "Bad Behavior" is a perfect second track, showing their fun new vibe but revealing the classic sound they've had since Can't Stop Won't Stop... just more mature. The third song, "Lovely" is their first transition song, & it's one of the best I've ever heard. The beginning of the song is smooth and slow, and as it begins to fade, it transforms into a fast-paced beat, morphing into the next song—one of the album's strongest tracks.

"Black Butterflies and De Ja Vu," is arguably their best single-type song they've ever composed. The song expresses a feeling of admiration for a person, romantic or otherwise. It's as if you're not even on the same level as the other person. You're in this foggy "lovesick" state of mind. "Taxi" explores another one of the album's themes of loneliness and sadness, and after the first listen, it became one of my favorites. Despite the subject matter it conveys a hopeful kind of sadness throughout the lyrics. It's a good song to come before "Do You Remember? (The Other Half of 23)." John sings about sneaking out and getting stoned, cheering to the hopeful things yet to come, hitting right on the record's recurring theme of nostalgia and remembering the past simplicities in life.

"Little" is one of the most important songs on the album even though it's only one minute and thirteen seconds. The guys' morphed vocals tell the listener to realize that where we are is only where we're at in this moment. This particular place in time isn't going to last forever, even though sometimes, it feels like it will, especially when we've hit a really low point. "The Sound of Reverie," is somewhat fast-paced, and goes off the lyrics from the prior track. "Lost in Nostalgia" follows "Reverie," and with its steady back-beat accompanied with the soothing vocals, it's a really beautiful song on this record, even though its shorter than others. It serves as a great precursor to "I Only Wanna Talk to You," a song that I was really taken aback from when I first heard it. The simple strumming of the same guitar strings with occasional fret changes make it really pleasing to listen to. The lyrics talk about being engulfed in the idea of someone, despite their struggles and downfalls—it's a really personal song.

"Lonely" is the album's final transition song; the melodic sound is calming and alluding to its end. This leads to the closing song, "How Do You Feel?" which is one of my absolute favorites. Like the comparison between album openers "Identify" & "Don't Come Down," "How Do You Feel" comes as a close second to American Candy's closing track, "Another Night on Mars." It includes every theme that was conveyed during the past 34 minutes: loneliness, sadness, comfort, connection, love, nostalgia, contentedness. It's a song that makes you think about your life, urging you to figure out if you're living a life you should be or if you're living a life you WANT to live, and that's so special.

What I take away after listening to lovely, little, lonely, is that this moment in time we are all in isn't going to last forever, which isn't good or bad... It just... is. No matter what we're going through in life, it can be lovely, little, or lonely. You need to learn how to love and live, coexisting in a desolate mind while realizing life will always... be. And I think that's beautiful.

album reviews
Like

About the Creator

Kacie Riordan

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.