Mae

In 2003, Virginia Beach’s Mae released their emotional pop rock debut Destination: Beautiful, which garnered moderate attention from a young, wide-eyed scene. Two years later, they effortlessly doubled their fan base with the release of their gorgeously crafted concept album The Everglow. Now, two years later, Mae release their third album, this time working with a different producer and signed to a major. While The Everglow related to Destination: Beautiful like a cohesive older brother, Singularity moves in a different direction altogether; it’s more rock oriented and unoriginal. "Sometimes I Can’t Make It Alone” opens with a guitar riff that hardly seems befitting of Mae’s style and is unfortunately, heavy on cheesy radio-ready rock. On the band’s Myspace page, lead singer Dave Elkins states that they were trying for a sound similar to that of Smashing Pumpkins and Pearl Jam, and that this is their best record. Is their sound changing to resemble those ’90s rockers? Definitely. However, whether or not Singularity is their most definitive release is up for debate.