I went to a podunk high school smack dab in the middle of nowhere in Northwest Indiana. At the time I lived there, the town had a population of about fourteen hundred people, that's one four double zero, of which just sixty made up my graduating class. Because of our small numbers, we existed in sort of a cultural pocket. Up until my junior year, we lived in the happening year of 1976. People drove rusted-out square-body pickups, worked the fields for their keep, and listened to assorted western and rock hits from decades long past. Then in 2017, the modern day hit us like a drunk driver hits a mule deer. The pop-punk revival rocked my school. Suddenly, everyone was talking about Good Charlotte, Paramore, and Boys Like Girls. Cliques formed around bands, everyone being certain their favorite was simply the best. I tended to float in and out of these circles as I liked to try a little bit of everything, but one group that I happened to latch onto was The Maine, all thanks to their at-the-time new record “Lovely Little Lonely.”
It seems I picked the right band to obsess over, as now, a decade after the pop-punk revival, they're one of the few groups of that era still producing new music. The Maine is one of those special bands that can crank out stunning albums at inhuman speeds. Since their debut in 2008, they have never gone more than three years without a studio release, and somehow they never take a dip in quality. Between you and me, I think the band may have pulled a Robert Johnson, going down to the crossroads to sell their souls in exchange for supernatural musical talent. How else do you explain so many knockout albums in less than twenty years? Now, three years after the release of their last record, the self-titled album, we're getting another new LP, "Joy Next Door," which I got to sample early. Aren't you jealous?
I got my grubby little hands on an advance copy of the new single “Quiet Part Loud.” This tune is part punk, part ballad, and all The Maine. It supports the idea I've been hearing floating around that the 2010s are coming back. This song is brutally 2013 with its pattering snare beat, gentle synths, and vocals that sound almost remorseful. I would like to call it a pseudo-club hit, but that isn't quite right. That brings to mind the pop-infested side of the decade, whereas “Quiet Part Loud” is decidedly alternative. To say, however, that this isn't something that would get a room full of people dancing would be entirely wrong. It's one of those songs that takes its time, coming at you in gentle bursts until finally in the last minute it hits you like a hurricane and blows you right down. Maybe it wouldn't work at Rock Lobster over on Broad Ripple Avenue; there's too much of a mollyhead party scene there, but I think it would be perfect for an Emo Nite rave, or an Emo Night rave, which is apparently put on by a completely different institution. The fact is, this is a tune that gets you excited. Like finding a twenty you had forgotten about in your pocket or seeing the dickhead that just cut you off get pulled over, it fills you with giddy jubilation.
If you have been a fan of The Maine for a while, then you're going to love “Quiet Part Loud.” It is most definitely a love letter to us, longtime listeners. If you're one of the younger members of my generation who can't remember the music scene of the early 2010s but have found yourself enthralled by its comeback, do not sleep on this one. This is exactly what we were listening to at the time. You can find the track streaming everywhere right now, so quit screwing around and go give it a listen. It's everything you want to hear and more.
