The Maybellines - A La Carte

The Maybellines
A La Carte

I’ve been a fan of The Maybellines’ semi-twee style of indie pop ever since their Shelflife EP release. I was recently passed their new EP “A La Carte” off of Best Friends Records and was happy to note that the quality of the songs have continued to shine brilliantly. This is indiepop in its most vibrant and yummy colors, but what I like about the band is that they balance the sweetness so nicely that you won’t get musical toothaches.

Denverites Mike, Julie, Al and Dave sidestep obvious comparisons to twee-minded faves like Tullycraft by writing terrific songs that are a little less jokey and pretty melodic, but still extremely fun to listen to. Julie’s vocals are light and airy (sometimes almost like Stereolab or Broadcast) and fit well with stripped down electric guitar riffs and the simple but nicely thumpin’ drum beats. Sometimes they feel a little bit like the great indiepop band Sissybar, though again the emphasis is more on the songs themselves than novelty.

The opening track “The Only One” actually reminds me a little bit of Butterglory. I really like the energy “Come On” which reminds me of a Cub song called “Howard” off of the old Pop American Style indie pop comp.

“Our Hearts Keep Time” switches thing up with distorted guitar… this song actually surprises in that it rocks out pretty hard. Pretty cool for a so-called twee band. “Night Ranger” is a really sweet mid-tempo track driven by cool bass lines that provides a nice close to this great indie pop EP.

The Maybellines website

by Palebear