Micah Marshall – MAE
Mae are keeping mid-2000s emocore alive with a new album due later this year. The rock band is premiering the second track from the forthcoming LP, “Let It Die,” on Billboard today (Aug. 16), and it’s everything a Mae fan would want: airy guitars, smooth vocals, and lyrics that give you all the feels.
Frontman Dave Elkins sings of a relationship that’s on the rocks because of pain he caused, but the love with his partner is so strong that he hopes it will lead to forgiveness in the end. “When we talk about forgiveness/It’s the way that we can love each other/Let it die so the death can bring life again,” he sings over a wavy guitar riff on the song’s chorus.
Though Elkins doesn’t detail whether he wrote this song from personal experience, he knows the importance of forgiveness in a relationship. “One thing that makes little sense to the brain but can flow out of abundance from the heart simultaneously is love. And with that love, forgiveness and grace,” he tells Billboard. “Life is short and life is also long. To view it through the paradoxical lens of forgiveness and to see all relationships and humanity this way first has to play a huge part of the pursuit of real love.
Everything can become more beautiful and truer even through pain. That seemed to me like a cool theme for a mid tempo catchy Mae song: the riddle and the renewal of forgiveness.”
“Let It Die” follows “5 Light Years,” a more intense, rocking first single from Mae’s upcoming album, which will be released this fall and marks the group’s first full-length release in almost 10 years. In celebration of the band’s big release, Mae is hitting the road to perform songs old and new for fans old and new. The tour kicks off in Nashville on Oct. 6, wrapping in Norfolk, Virginia on Nov. 24. The tour will feature select dates with special VIP Mae Day events that will include “a fully immersive experience to engage your whole body and mind into a work of art” — playing on the group’s full name, Multisensory Aesthetic Experience.
As part of the “Mae Day” events, guests will get a chance to share a meal with the band, hear an acoustic performance, witness a virtual reality one-on-one experience and more, all focused on the experience and narrative of this album. Fans can purchase tickets here.
Listen to “Let It Die” and check out Mae’s tour dates below.
Oct 06 – Nashville, TN @ The High Watt
Oct 07 – Nashville, TN @ Schematic Studios (MAE Day)
Oct 09 – Chicago, IL @ Chubas (MAE Day)
Oct 10 – Pontiac, MI @ The Pike Room
Oct 11 – Millvale, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theatre (MAE Day)
Oct 12 – New York, NY @ TBD
Oct 13 – Boston, MA @ Middle East – Downstairs
Oct 14 – Brooklyn, NY @ Knitting Factory
Oct 18 – Philadelphia, PA @ TBD (MAE Day)
Oct 19 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Foundry
Oct 20 – Vienna, VA @ Jammin Java
Nov 08 – Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall
Nov 09 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
Nov 10 – Orlando, FL @ The Social
Nov 11 – Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution
Nov 14 – Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live Studio
Nov 15 – Dallas, TX @ Curtain Club
Nov 16 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk
Nov 17 – Austin TX @ TBD (MAE Day)
Nov 18 – Little Rock, AR @ Revolution Music Room
Nov 23 – Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa
Nov 24 – Norfolk, VA @ TBD (MAE Day)
