5 Reasons To Love The Maine’s ‘Forever Halloween’

The Maine has had a long history here on Buzznet. Our community of music lovers has been by their side watching them evolve from pop/rock heartthrobs into sophisticated musicians with more heart than 95% of their peers. Today The Maine have a brand new 12-track offering that will only continue to satisfy their fans’ love for The Maine’s signature sound, these songs will also become allies later in life. Because that’s what The Maine does so well, they bring melodies with a candid message. The message might not hit you right away but when it does, it’s loud and clear. That’s the sort of music that stays will you forever. I suppose the album’s title, Forever Halloween will hold a different meaning for me.

There are tons of albums out today, but if I only had 10 bucks on me, I’d spend it on The Maine’s Forever Halloween. Here are 5 (of the many reasons) to love this new album.

1. Production: The Maine teamed up with Brendan Benson (The Raconteurs) for this new record, and his old school approach to recording challenged The Maine. But I think those sorts of risks are what makes The Maine so admirable. The album was recorded live with tape (you know, how Queen and The Rolling Stones recorded) forcing them to rely strictly on the sounds they could make organically. Heck, the title-track “Forever Halloween” reminded me of a Pink Floyd “Wish You Were Here” moment, one of the most admired songs in classic rock.

A genuine recording; impressive. Dave Grohl would be proud.

2. “Blood Red” I love the opening line of this song, “My, my, my what fangs you have.” The entire song has a cool dark rock vibe that could hang with something a rock band in the 70s would have released and turned some heads. The pre-chorus in particular has an interesting rhythm that I had stuck with me. Here’s more on the song straight from the band.

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3. “These Four Words:” Honestly the day this album’s stream entered my inbox I put it on immediately to get a feel for the album, but when this song hit I had to stop what I was doing. I sat at my desk (yep right here in the office) and had some tears in my eyes. The narrative is incredibly clear and all too familiar. Just a piano and John O’Callaghan’s confession made for an emotional four minutes.

Last night they also released a music video for the song, see below.

4. “Goodbye LA.” Welll, well, well it looks like John and I have the same impatient for the Los Angeles. Don’t get me wrong I love living in such a wonderful city, but there are some elements I find exhausting and disappointing. I think John says it perfectly with his lyrics, “Oh this ain’t my birthday party. No it’s just a fashion show. Yeah, this is something, it just isn’t me.” Nailed it.

5. Undeniable growth. I can’t say enough about The Maine’s ability to evolve since 2007. They have such conviction in their music (this album was funded on their own) and belief in one another that it’s impossible not to admire what they have been able to accomplish together. I am sure it’s not all rainbows and sunshine 100% of the time, but they didn’t give up.

There are many reasons to love this album, but I will leave the rest for you to tell me about in the comments below. So, if you have only 10 bucks to spend today spend it on Forever Halloween. #musicrules.

You can also see The Maine live this summer on tour with A Rocket To The Moon, Brighten and This Century.

Buy the album here on iTunes or pick it up at your local record store.

What do you think of Forever Halloween?

Let’s talk music, let me know your thoughts in the comments below.