The Maine finds ‘Joy Next Door’ on their 10th studio album
The Arizona alt-rockers are making joy sound familiar, intimate and electric, all at once.
★★★★★
Photo: Lupe Bustos
We’re bound to feel nostalgic while listening to music released two decades ago. However, when it comes to The Maine and their 20-year-long career, nostalgia seeps out of each and every note that is played, no matter how recent the release. Joy Next Door — the tenth addition to the band’s repertoire of studio albums — is no different.
With Joy Next Door, the five-piece alt-rock band—formed by lead singer John O’Callaghan, guitarists Kennedy Brock and Jared Monaco, drummer Pat Kirch and bassist Garrett Nickelsen — deliver what might be their most essential work to date. All eleven songs in the album were recorded in the exact same order as they appear in the tracklist; an artistic effort to highlight the storytelling quality of the project that most certainly paid off. This record takes the listeners on a journey, reflecting on themes of uncertainty, human connection and basking in even the smallest moments of joy.
The Maine’s albums (or eras) are always defined by a signature colour and, if the artwork wasn’t an immediate giveaway of the one chosen this time, then the record’s first track, Green, certainly is. The opener immediately invites the listener into the intimate, organic world of Joy Next Door, marked by the warm embrace of acoustic guitars and soaring harmonies.
Just a couple of tracks later, the energy levels skyrocket in Half A Spark. Electric guitars and snappy drums complement the intense yearning found in the song’s lyrics, as O’Callaghan sings, “Aren’t you tired of the view where you are? / You want a little more than a spark, don’t you?”, longing to return to wilder and more chaotic times from youth.
In the age of manifestation and leaving things up to fate, in the dreamy synths and groovy beats of Palms, the band urges people to do the exact opposite. Singing “Don’t think / It all happens for a reason / Fuck that”, the band encourages listeners to choose and take control of their own destiny. Where the band spends Half A Spark yearning for more, in Palms they remember they have the power to go and get it.
Right at the core of the tracklist is 3:31, a raw contemplation of what fame feels — or is supposed to feel — like. With a fanbase that grew steadily and organically over time, The Maine have had plenty of time to sit with their feelings around the subject. Perhaps that is why the lyrics in this song come across as so undeniably honest, something that isn’t unusual with the band, but that definitely stands out here.
In fact, lyrics are the strongest element of Joy Next Door. I kept finding myself deeply resonating with at least one line in every track; most of the time, with several. Quiet Part Loud, however, drew out some of the most visceral reactions. It takes its time to build, approaching the listener in quiet, gentle bursts until it culminates in a final explosion of sound. The song’s romantic piano juxtaposes fast and snappy drums that could easily belong to a drum and bass track — a touching embodiment of the rush found in the need to say something before a moment slips away.
Right up next, following the trail left by Quiet Part Loud’s energetic ending, is the vibrant lead single, Die To Fall,and, where Quiet Part Loud sounds almost like the regret of not living in the moment, Die To Fall sounds more like the desire to be able to do so.
The album comes to an end with a lovely, slow note with And Then, a direct parallel to the opener, Green. The lyrics “Maybe this is what it feels like to fall”, found at the end of Green, take on a whole new meaning in And Then, where they return only to become “Maybe this is what it feels like / To fall for her” instead.
Joy Next Door perfectly balances the familiarity of The Maine’s signature sound with just enough experimentation for it to still be refreshing. In closing the album by circling back to the beginning, it bids the listener to stay and sit with the feelings it evokes, over and over again. And, speaking from personal experience, it sure is a tough invite to refuse.
Joy Next Door is out now via Photo Finish Records / 8123.