Hello everyone! Welcome back to my blog! Today I will doing a review for our Eurovision 2023's entrant Mae Muller who released her debut album a few months ago!
The first song on the album is called 'I Just Came To Dance' which is a simple song that could explain that Mae has entered a video purely for the music and to have a good time. Some of the lyrics in the song include the words 'your eyes are sending me a message again... we haven't touched but the feeling is electric'. I think the lyrics here mean that she has been making eye contact with somebody and I guess they are looking deep into her soul. She is also talking about the connection being 'electric' so I guess it's all about the positive energy, and the feeling of knowing when something should be taken further.
Other lyrics in the song include the words 'my body is telling me to let go' so maybe she is having a situation where her head and her heart are saying different things. For this part of the track, I like how she began singing a little bit higher, and there was a high pitched short talking rap towards the end of the song as well. She goes on to sing the words 'won't end with just a kiss', kind of foreseeing what is going to happen, adding that 'if I walk away I know I will regret it. She also speaks about having 'one more drink' and that it won't make the situation worse, but if anything it might bring out her confidence a little bit more. Mae also adds here that her plans have been messed up, but for this guy she is going to give him a chance. With love, chances are good, and I'm not sure how deep of a connection she has with this individual, but she obviously respects him enough to want to spend more time with him. There was also a nice backing singer who was whispering vocals such as 'I did' when she sings the words about having her plans messed up.
The second song on the album is called 'Sorry Daniel' so I presume there is a guy called Daniel out in the world who isn't going to be marrying Mae anytime in the future. This seems to be an apology song rather than an attack video on somebody. She said at the beginning of the song that she knew he wanted to take her to her favourite coffee place, adding the words 'trying to be sweet...you really thought about it' giving him credit where it is due. She explained during the song that she tried to think about whether she wanted to accept the invite or not, and she said that she doesn't want to go, as she thinks he is only after one thing. Other lyrics include 'so again, I've got to cancel...it's not easy for me' which shows that I guess she did have some sort of feeling for this person, but for now her heart is probably somewhere else. She does a little voice riff, and there are some repetitive 'oh oh ooh's towards the end of the song as well which bring the melody to a nice close.
The third song on the album is called 'B*tch with a Broken Heart' which sounds quite dramatic from just reading the title of the song. I think in this song she is expressing her emotion for how you shouldn't ever make a woman feel sad as it will come back and hit you hard in the face. Some of the opening lyrics include 'you said it would get better' which could be almost like a promise that was broken. 'boy that was a rookie error' is another unique line that Mae sings in this song, which could show that she will have payback on this guy who made such a silly mistake which is going to come back and haunt him in the future. She also signs the words 'playing games with me was a really bad move' to signify that Mae is not the type of woman who should be messed around, and she is a confident individual woman who will stand up for herself and what she believes in, not being treated badly by anyone.
She goes on to sing that she is going to try and keep her composure and that she will be 'coming for you in all my songs, there's nothing you can do', hinting at the fact that most or all of these songs might be about some of the same guys who have messed Mae around in her personal life, and although their full identities are hidden, she reveals some facts that could easily identify them. At the end of the song there were little gaps between some of the words during the chorus, and the changing rhythm of the song was also a really nice addition to this song.
The next songs 'I Wrote a Song' and 'Me, Myself & I' are the first two songs I heard from the album, as she did her debut performance of IWAS on Eurovision UK, and MM&I was her first single released from the album before the album was brought into the world. I think IWAS is simply a song that describes a story of somebody saying they needed to take some space away to work on their mental health but ended up cheating on her and not telling her the full story. She sings lines including 'me and my girls are out, and we all sing along...instead I wrote a song' reminding us that girls will stick together when there is a bad guy in the picture, and she hints at the fact that she could have broken his car or embarrased him outside his house, but instead she just decided to write a song about it. 'I could have cried at home' are also lyrics on the song that also show that she is a brave individual and although usually her normal reaction would be to cry, now she is trying to hold those tears in and focus on the next best thing.
In MM&I, she sings the line 'it's getting boring, this stupid boy thing' which is something I can relate to on a day to day basis. There are some great guys in the world, but the majority of them are not for me or they want only one thing from a friendship or a relationship. This song kind of hints that self love is important and she says 'I'm the lover of my own life' which kind of backs this up. Other lyrics also hint at some point who she has been previously in situationships with, 'no more Charlie, Michael, Ethan...I had to leave them' and she briefly describes a factor about them that she liked, but that she wasn't able to continue with any of them. She also sings the line 'I'm young and single, why would I settle down' expressing that young people can have fun and mess around without having to commit to anything. 'got nobody on my line, don't hit me up I'll decline' is a way for her to basically let people know that she is not interested in anything serious and she won't answer the phone if you call her.
Up next was 'Tatiana' which I think was a song about a girl that had also been messed around by the same guy as MAe, and in the song she initially describes her as a girl with 'big blue eyes and long blonde hair', admitting that she can't help but stare because I guess she is jealous about the way which this girl looks. Mae adds that this girl looks good whilst she is in a state, and she adds that she has 'been thinking about you and him'. I guess the song is more of a reflection on how they have both been treated, and she says that 'I think we know this is all his fault' so hopefully they become friends and can try and find guys who will appreciate them for who they are.
'Somebody New' was the next track on the album where Mae reflects on where one of her ex-lovers in, saying that she doesn't know what they're doing or where they've been, but maybe they have been working on themself. She adds the words 'maybe you've been dancing with somebody else' and goes on to explain that she thought she would remain friends with this guy who is now acting both distant and different. Her final reflection is that he's moved on, and his relationship with her must have just been a fling. 'I Wish I Could Hate You' follows on from this track where she seems to be wanting to get answers if a lover of her's is seeing other people, and believes that because of the type of guy he is, that she doesn't think he would do that. She admits that this guy still has her heart, and although she sings the line 'you never did me wrong, you weren't unfaithful', she says that she hopes he finds what he is looking for.
Up next was a sad song called 'Little Bit Sad' where the theme of the song is Mae hoping that this guy was a little bit sad to not have her in his life anymore, and they went from saying 'you're the one' to 'stay in touch' which is a very different choice of words over time. She explained that she can see him moving on, but can imagine he finds it difficult going to Primrose Hill, London or watching The Office without her, as it reminds him of those past memories. 'Maybe That's Just Life' was up next, and Mae says straightaway that she wishes she was a morning person but she's not and describes having back pain at age 21 and the fact that she wished she could still play guitar but gave that hobby up. I think is more of a reflection song compared to some of the others, and she does say that at times she 'feels a little undeserving, but I know I deserve a lot' so i guess her she understands her worth, but sometimes can't help to think that she might not be good enough to achieve her goals and dreams.
'Breathe' is the next song, where she explains that in almost every place she goes to, there is somebody always present, and she says 'can you just leave me alone, it's not fair'. I'm not sure if this is because he is physically in the same spaces as her or if she is constantly thinking about him. I think this is a self reflection song, telling herself that she can get through a bad situation that she's been through with a guy, adding that she's tired of thinking that she was wrong. 'Something Real' has the opening line where the admits to checking her phone as the first task of the morning, and says that she needs to go and find something real. Mae hinted at the use of dating apps saying 'I don't want to swipe right my whole life' and adds that she's had enough of entertaining strangers, receiving valiation and mistaking it for love. These are all interesting lyrics for the song, but I guess sometimes people feel that in order to be good enough, they need constant reminders of this from people they don't know.
The next single on the album is 'Nervous (In a Good Way)' where I guess she mentions that she's going to forget everything in the past for a moment, and explains a situation where she was sitting in a car with a guy and seemed very nervous. She said 'I had to sit on my hands the whole way, you didn't see them shake' so maybe this is a hint that she felt comfortable around this guy, but maybe she wasn't as confident as she is now. She goes on to say 'you make me nervous, but in a good way'. I guess this is a good feeling to have if you feel nervous around somebody you trust, but the song also sounds like a rock chick kind of song with fast drums playing in the background, so a lot more up tempo and quicker than some of the other melodies.
'Better Days' was a track where Mae admits to feeling lonely and that she 'needs someone to hold me' adding that she also feels 'jaded' which either means bored or physically tired, both having negative connotations. In the song, she is joined by rapper Polo G and NEIKED, and Polo sings a line 'introverted Mae can't make friends' and Mae says that she could use a break. At the end of the song there are some high vocals for the title of the song with some 'wooah's to end it. 'Porn Lied To Us' is the title for the next track, which has quite a unique title to begin with, but she begins the song by saying that she's not feeling the person who she's just met up with, adding the words 'maybe tonight's just not the night', and she goes on to say that she feels a little bit stressed, when this sort of thing is supposed to have fun. She compares this situation to porn videos saying that you don't have to scream everytime you're touched, and that 'you be you, I'll be me, we'll be us... becase I think we're enough. I think here she is basically saying that we don't need to be fake when it comes to being attracted to people, you can just be yourself and things will happen if it's the right time and person, and if it doesn't feel right, then don't worry about it, and move on to the next person or just analyse with yourself why it didn't work.
The final two songs on the album were 'Miss America' where she describes that she wants to be picture perfect and potentially make herself look perfect. She describes the feeling of getting botox, but you could still be cracked underneath and dealing with your own internal issues which can't be resolved with surgery. Mae also lists some of the things wrong with her life at the moment, where it's the fact that people cannot pronounce her name whether she's following dreams and they're driving her insane, and goes on to say that she will never be Miss America. I don't know her if she is maybe hoping to break into the American music industry and make her name a little bit bigger for herself, but that's how I would analyse this song. To bring the album to a close, we have a song called 'Written by A Woman' which is a very simple and very clever concept of a song. She sings about a guy who is confident and masculine, but he is in time with his feminine side and not afraid to cry. She says that because of the way she is, maybe he is a man that has been written by a woman. I think the best way to analyse this, is that because women know how they want men to be, she is saying that he's almost been made too perfect to what a woman is looking for. She said that he doesn't have anything to prove, and repeated again that his body features such as his shoulders and/or hands have been have been created by a woman.
I really enjoyed listening to this first album by Mae Muller and I think every song on the album was great! My favourites will probably have to be 'I Wrote A Song', 'Me, Myself & I', 'Somebody New' and 'Nervous (In A Good Way)'! Until my next review, thanks for ready and see you soon!