Mae
Singularity
Capitol/ EMI


This is Mae's first album since leaving Christian label Tooth And Nail Records, and whilst they are not an overtly Christian band, their songs still have a "this could be about my girlfriend or about Jesus" cool Christian thing going on, while sounding like a combination of Anberlin and Motion City Soundtrack.

Musically, the album is intelligent and complex. The songs included are also quite different from one another; which is something a lot of bands seem to find difficult to accomplish. There are, of course, a lot of fast drums and electric guitars, but the keyboards and electro key tones they choose to include, especially in opening track Brink Of Disaster, set the album apart from generic rock music.

Release Me is one of the more drawn back tracks on the album, and probably one of the best. It is both simple and pleasant and the straightforward keyboards and open drums allow the quality of the singer's true whiney vocal range to be highlighted. Most tracks also seem to have a lot of backing vocals, not just in the chorus but throughout the entire song which gives the entire album a dramatic feel.

There is a track on the album entitled (Silence). which is exactly that. I don't know what they were going for here - arty? Deep? Humorous? Whatever the case, as far as this track goes they failed dismally. It seems like it's going to have something exciting or secret somewhere in its 4 minutes of length but rest assured that there is nothing but a waste of your time contained in Track 13 of the album. That aside, 'Singularity' is an intriguing and fascinating album. It is enjoyable, a little bit angry, a little bit emotional and definitely worth your time to listen to.

Mary Quigley