“Embers and Envelopes” by Mae, Wednesday, May 1 2024 (repost)

Every band tackled the Covid-19 pandemic in different ways. Many bands are selling live-stream tickets. Some have decided to give free concerts on social networking. Cleared from the time-consuming task of driving across the country, setting up equipment, and tearing down only to drive to the next city, musicians have been able to produce music in new ways. It doesn't hurt that all of their equipment and professional microphones are in their basements. Two years ago, Emery produced a show on their  Twitch channel, in which they played their songs. They often had guest vocalists from other bands, such as Hawthorne Heights, Silverstein, and Dave Elkins of Mae. Emery reimagined some of their songs and the guest vocalist's band's songs too. The collaboration of "Embers and Envelopes" was a beautifully updated take on Mae's first single. 

TO WRITE THIS DOWN AS MEANS TO RECONCILE. The word "reconcile" is an awkward term to put in a song. But the lead single from Mae's Destination: Beautiful, "Embers and Envelops" talks about an uncomfortable letter the speaker of the song writes, hoping to "patch things up" between him and the listener. On the first season of Labeled, Mae's lyricist and singer Dave Elkins talked about a mis-understanding with some of his former church, inspiring several songs on Destination: Beautiful. "Embers and Envelops" is about the singer making the first move in reconciliation. Destination: Beautiful isn't the only record in which Mae talks about forgiveness and reconciliation. On their latest record, Multisensory Aesthetic Experience, the track "Let It Die" likens forgiveness to a seed that must die for new life to bloom. It's possibly lyrically even a little clunkier than "Embers and Envelopes," but it is the melody that makes Mae, Mae. 

I KNOW YOU HAVE SACRIFICED TIME, LIFE, LOVE.  This year, Mae is celebrating twenty years since the release of their debut record, Destination: Beautiful. In 2003, I was a sophomore in high school and I was shelling out tons of lawn-mowing money on new records. It was stressful to walk into a record store and see what new records were in stores on Tuesdays. It was also a huge year for music, seeing debuts from Evanescence, Anberlin, and Copeland to name a few. Switchfoot released their breakthrough The Beautiful Letdown. Thrice released The Artist in the Ambulance.  Linkin Park released Meteora. It was a transitional year in Christian Rock from the overtly religious sounds of bands like Pillar and Sanctus Real to Vans Warped Tour bands taking the mainstream on Christian Rock radio. Tooth & Nail Records was transitioning from punk to emo as bands like Slick Shoes started leaving the label. It was the last huzzah for bands like Newsboys and Audio Adrenaline on Christian Rock radio before those bands became CCM groups. I'm sure that I'll be looking more into the year of 2003 later this year.

Read “Embers and Envelopes” by Mae on Genius