Having wrapped the mtvU tour with Motion City Soundtrack, MAE have announced they’ll launch a spring headlining run in support of their widely acclaimed major label debut SINGULARITY, released last fall on Capitol Records. Starting March 16, the trio is partnering with Habitat For Humanity and Invisible Children for their five-week U.S. headlining tour with The Honorary Title, Between The Trees and Far-Less supporting. Frontman DAVE ELKINS states:
“In a continuing effort to learn more about charitable organizations and serve as a bridge between those groups and our fan community, we are partnering with Habitat For Humanity and Invisible Children on this tour. We will be performing acoustic everyday before the show so come early and stay tuned to www.whatismae.com for more details on participation. We are excited to bring you a tour with our friends The Honorary Title, Between the Trees, and Far-Less and we look forward to being a part of it every night.”
MAE–DAVE ELKINS (lead vocals/guitars), JACOB MARSHALL (drums) and ZACH GEHRING (guitars)–are currently on the road in Japan, after which they’ll head to Australia for a seven-city run performing at the Soundwave Festival in addition to a few one-off shows with Cartel, Sugarcult and Motion City Soundtrack.
2008 marks the five-year anniversary of the release MAE’S debut Destination: Beautiful. “That album started it all for us,” ELKINS says. “This tour will give us a chance to re-visit many old songs with a new enthusiasm, and it’s exciting for us dust off some early favorites. We are asking for fan participation in creating the set list so cast a vote for your favorite songs at www.myspace.com/mae.”
Produced by Howard Benson (My Chemical Romance, All American Rejects, Saosin) the Virginia group’s third album, SINGULARITY–the follow-up to their indie releases Destination: Beautiful (2003) and The Everglow (2005) which have now sold over a quarter of a million copies combined–marked the highest debut of their career, coming in at #40 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. The album–which features the new focus track “Brink of Disaster”–is continuing to garner accolades in the press.
“Having sold a quarter-million copies of their two indie-label releases, Virginia rock quintet Mae connects with Capitol Records to make a play for the big time…a fetching sense of melody and rhythmic shifts that recall Anberlin and Jimmy Eat World.”
–Brian Mansfield, USA TODAY (8/28/07), 3 star CD review
“Mae’s 2003 Tooth & Nail debut Destination Beautiful represented the blueprint for the Norfolk, VA group’s success: Sensitive, polished pop with a sunny outlook. Its Capitol debut, SINGULARITY is more hook-laden than Mae’s last two efforts, but frontman Dave Elkins’ powerful vocals and lyrics set this album apart. ‘Reflections’ is a simple yet uplifting lament that explores lost love and the reconciliation of science and faith.”
–Jonathan Cohen, BILLBOARD (8/17/2007)
“A stint with Failure frontman Ken Andrews turned Mae’s sound from simple pop into beautifully expansive piano-infused rock on 05’s The Everglow and the band faced the lofty task of recapturing that disc’s magic on their major-label debut [Singularity]. This time the pride of Virginia Beach hooked up with hitmaker Howard Benson (My Chemical Romance, All American Rejects) to create a powerful rock album hearkening back to 90’s rock favorites Pearl Jam and Smashing Pumpkins combined with a healthy dose of their pop roots. Tracks like ‘Sometimes I Can’t Make It Alone’ and ‘Telescopes’ have the perfect balance of sensitivity and edge to become enormous hits, and the ballad ‘Release Me’ exceeds the charm of The Everglow’s wealth of slower songs. Once again, Mae have found themselves at the forefront of creativity and completeness in a genre that generally lacks both.”
–Kevin Wade, ALTERNATIVE PRESS, 4 out-of 5 star CD review (October 2007)
“Mae have the formula for the three to four minute rock song down pat. Melodic hooks, impassioned vocals and solid musicianship abound on SINGULARITY, the third-full length from this Virginia group. …a tightly focused rock album from a thoughtful, talented band.”
–Grant Shellen, PASTE (October 2007)
“An unclassifiable band (always a good thing), Mae confounds expectations. The punchy rhythm section and slamming guitars bespeak a sort of emo, but there’s that keyboard and Dave Elkins’ almost pretty yet conversational vocals. Mae’s third album, SINGULARITY, has so many hooks, so many welcome harmonic turns, that it leaves Warped bands in the proverbial dust and easily challenges such acts as My Chemical Romance and Relient K.”
–LOS ANGELES TIMES (8/29/07)
“‘Sic Semper Tyrannis’ is a wildly catchy track with potential to be the next single, while ‘Rocket’ and ‘Telescopes’ showcase the move toward a heavier sound. ‘Reflections’ closes the album on a high note. Elkins asks fundamental questions about life and love in a swaying ballad that serves a post-rock cool down session. With a deeper catalog of quality tracks, and less that ask to be skipped, SINGULARITY has the potential to have more staying power than the less-filling ’05 effort The Everglow.”
–Kyle Koster, CHICAGO SUN TIMES, 3-star CD review (8/19/07)
“With the luxury of time, the members of Mae concocted a bigger rock sound for SINGULARITY, a departure from the soaring ballads that defined Destination: Beautiful (20003).”
–Jim Abbott, ORLANDO SENTINEL, (8/3/07)
“Mae sure picked a great time to deliver its best album. After two respectable indie outings on Tooth & Nail, the Norfolk-based group jumped to Capitol, which dropped SINGULARITY this week and what a sensationally crafted pop-rock album it is. ‘Sometimes I Can’t Make It Alone’ the lead-off single is a radio-friendly homer. It’s a chain reaction of melodic hooks strung together with a teenage-daydream anthem chorus capped by Dave Elkins’ full-on, passionate voice. Mae has written no better. ‘Brink of Disaster’ is similarly rich in melody and has that uplifting chorus with some accentuating vocal phrasing comparable to Fall Out Boy. Where most of the songs including the big powerful ‘Telescopes’ and balladry of ‘Release Me’-benefit from layered production, ‘Last Transmission II’ listed as a hidden track, is masterfully stripped down to allow its acoustic pop-rock qualities to shine.”
–Jeff Maisey, VIRGINIAN-PILOT (8/17/07)
“Mae continues to write catchy emotional rock-pop featuring Zach Gehring’s crunchy guitars, Jacob Marshall’s unrelenting drums and harmony-filled, anthemic choruses.”
–THE BIG TAKOVER, (December 2007)
“Mae’s new single ‘Sometimes I Can’t Make It Alone’ is a juicy power-glam rocker.”
— D. Shawn Bosler, VILLAGE VOICE, 8/8/07
“SINGULARITY is the band’s major label debut after two big-selling indie discs and though it certainly bears the evidence of a slick, big-budget production job by Howard Benson, the album’s streamlined guitar roar and precision-geared melodic hooks are not a real departure for Mae-these guys have sounded like pros since they started. That’s no knock: like Billy Corgan back before he wanted to be in Pantera, frontman Dave Elkins has a knack for pairing whiny sensitive-dude vocals with twisty-turny riffs that never seem to stop unfolding. With its micro-managed licks within-licks opener ‘Brink of Disaster’ could be an out-take from Siamese Dream, whereas the deliciously strummy ‘Just Let Go’ is a ‘Tonight, Tonight’ for melancholy MySpace mavens.”
–Mikael Wood, BOSTON PHOENIX (4/16/07)
“SINGULARITY showcases Mae in their truest form, capturing the same vigor as their live shows with towering vocals, unforgettable piano hooks and immense guitar rifts.”
–Philiana Ng, DAILY TROJAN (USC, 8/29/07)
“An acronym for Multisensory Aesthetic Experience, Mae provides just that-an experience. Just have a listen to the first 30 seconds of track one, ‘Brink of Disaster,’ and you’ll be hooked. Accurately titled SINGULARITY, the album seems to have a single focus-giving people the music they want. They definitely do, so look out. Your newest obsession is on the way.”
–JUSTINE (November 2007)
“Gorgeous vocal harmonies, soaring melodic themes and a finely honed sense of dramatic tension…”
–JT, NORTH COUNTY TIMES (San Diego, CA, 8/23/07)
“A perfectly executed balance of tantalizing rhythms and lyrical masterpieces…”
–Kara Harvey, WINSTON SALEM JOURNAL, (9/22/07)
“From the opening strains of ‘Brink of Disaster’ through additional keepers ‘Sometimes I Can’t Make it Alone,’ ‘Sic Semper Tyrannis’ and ‘Rocket,’ SINGULARITY is filled with lightweight power-pop gems. Slightly more rocking that their previous two efforts, this is the band’s best album to date.”
–Jeffrey Sisk, MCKEESPORT DAILY NEWS (9/6/2007)
“Songwriter and frontman Dave Elkins returns with his definitive melodic soars all introduced by the textured crescendo build-ups and high-spectrum keyboards that have evolved into the band’s enduring trademark sound.”
–Dan Frazier, HM MAGAZINE (October 2007)
“Mae sounds like a lovely name for a pop/rock band, until you learn it stands for something: Multisensory Aesthetic Experience. But that’s a motif that runs through the thoughtful, metaphorical lyrics and music of this Virginia-based group. There are often deeper, if not hidden meanings. In the footsteps of Bunyan, Lewis and Chesteron, not to mention My Chemical Romance, Mae creates buoyant pop/rock hooks with enough rock energy to balance the sing-along anthems.”
–Brian Quincy Newcomb, CCM (September 2007)
The tour dates are listed below. Catch up with MAE at: www.whatismae.com.
DATE CITY VENUE
International Dates
Sat 2/23 Brisbane, Australia Riverstage (Soundwave Festival)
Sun 2/24 Alexandria, Australia Sydney Park (Soundwave Festival)
Mon 2/25 Sydney, Australia The Metro
Tue 2/26 Canberra, Australia ANU Refectory Canberra
Fri 2/29 Melbourne, Australia Showgrounds (Soundwave Festival)
Sat 3/1 Adelaide, Australia Bonython Park (Soundwave)
Mon 3/3 Perth, Australia Steel Blue Oval (Soundwave)
w/ The Honorary Title, Between The Trees, Far-Less
Sun 3/16 Philadelphia, PA Theater of the Living Arts
Tue 3/18 Washington, DC The Black Cat
Wed 3/19 New York, NY Irving Plaza
Thu 3/20 Lancaster, PA The Chameleon Club
Fri 3/21 Cambridge, MA Middle East
Sat 3/22 Buffalo, NY Club Infinity
Mon 3/24 Slippery Rock, PA University Union (Slippery Rock U)
Tue 3/25 Cleveland, OH Agora Ballroom
Wed 3/26 Detroit, MI Magic Stick
Thu 3/27 Chicago, IL Metro
Fri 3/28 Madison, WI Majestic Theater
Sat 3/29 Milwaukee, WI Turner Hall
Mon 3/31 Waverly, IA Neuman Auditorium (Wartburg College)
Wed 4/2 Lawrence, KS Bottleneck
Thu 4/3 Denver, CO Marquis Theater
Fri 4/4 Salt Lake City, UT Avalon Theater
Sat 4/5 Seattle, WA El Corazon
Sun 4/6 Portland, OR Hawthorne Theatre
Tue 4/8 San Francisco, CA Slim’s
Wed 4/9 Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre
Thu 4/10 San Diego, CA Epicentre
Fri 4/11 Pomona, CA The Glass House
Sat 4/12 Tempe, AZ Marquee Theater
Mon 4/14 Dallas, TX The Door
Tue 4/15 San Antonio, TX The White Rabbit
Wed 4/16 Houston, TX The Meridian – Red Room
Thu 4/17 New Orleans, LA House of Blues – The Parish
Sat 4/19 Lake Buena Vista, FL House of Blues
Sun 4/20 Fort Lauderdale, FL Culture Room
Tue 4/22 Atlanta, GA The Masquerade
Wed 4/23 Greensboro, NC Greene Street