With a visceral vibrancy mayday mae! wrestles with the many anxieties that accompany one’s search for identity on her debut EP My Post-Desert Hearts Renaissance. Occupying a similar vein as Wallice and spill tab—the arrival of her first batch of songs has revealed a talent for coating the disenchantment of young adulthood in radiant and punchy indie-pop.
The vintage glint inherent to mayday mae’s sound, echoing jaunty surf rock and ethereal doo-wop, is owed to their fascination with everything from the Golden Age of Hollywood to 1960s mod fashion. But she doesn’t just flirt with the aesthetics of the past—she also transforms them through a modern queer lens—with songs like “Pin-Up Revolution” nostalgically subverting gender roles to the tune of buoyant synth-pop.
Another influence that shines through in their songwriting is a love of film, particularly those that dive into sapphic relationships. With swooning ease, mayday mae captures all the giddy trappings of desire (“Bound”) and desperate yearning (“Love, Your ‘Extrovert'”) that unfold in romances that blossom alongside volatile personal growth. Their lyrics budding with empathetic knowing, honesty, and affection.
“Each song acts as a vignette for a learned life lesson at the threshold of adolescence and adulthood,” they shared. “Whether that be realizing self-worth, becoming comfortable in one’s interests, or being loud and standing up for what you believe in, my post-desert hearts renaissance is about finding your own sense of self and embracing it in all its forms.”
You can’t help but feel propelled by the raucous urgency of tracks like “Girls Into Music” or get swept up in the breezy, bittersweet triumph of “Ms. Desert Hearts.” It’s the kind of music that leaves you breathless in the driving wake of its rollicking rhythms and careening openheartedness. We expect the EP is the first of many soundtracks mayday mae has up their sleeve that would make perfect companions to a summer coming-of-age film a-la “But I’m a Cheerleader.”
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Words: Steven Ward
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