In 2007, at 11-years-old I took the plunge to venture out into the wide world of music and search for what exactly I could relate to, made my ears happy, and meant something more than your traditional Pop songs on the radio. Don't get me wrong there was nothing wrong with the Pop on the radio, but I knew down the line there was going to be a point where there was nothing but a good beat behind it for me. This journey brought me to where I found my favorite bands, my favorite genres, etc. Most importantly though, it brought me The Maine.

The Maine was at the time a small Alternative band from Tempe, Arizona who had just started their music career with their debut EP "Stay Up, Get Down", which would later be followed towards the end of the year with the next EP "The Way We Talk". Since the discovery of The Maine I have fallen in love with their lyrics, their shows, the band members, and the wild ride they take their fans on with each piece of art that they release.

The band consists of John O'Callaghan (lead vocals, piano, guitar), Kennedy Brock (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Pat Kirch (drums, percussion), Jared Monaco (lead guitar, backing vocals), and Garrett Nickelsen (bass, backing vocals). From the dawn of their music I have been blessed with the opportunity to listen to and watch them grow; each album holding a special place in my heart. The Maine has given me a soundtrack to grow up to, forever friends, and more memories than I can hold in my heart and head.

Following the "Stay Up, Get Down" and "The Way We Talk" EPs, The Maine released their first album "Can't Stop, Won't Stop" in 2008 and from there on the music has only gotten better. Since then there was "Black & White" in 2010, "Pioneer" in 2011, "Forever Halloween" in 2013, "American Candy" in 2015, and what you're reading about today is their 6th studio album released in their 10th year as a band: "Lovely Little Lonely".

Each album, like I said, holds a special place in my heart. They came to me in times I needed them most and taught me how to deal with the way people and the world made me feel, and for that, I will be forever grateful. "Lovely Little Lonely" was no exception, which is why I am going to break it down track by track to give you just a little taste of what you can expect from the album and what it means to me.

1. Don't Come Down

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An upbeat introduction to the album, The Maine reminds you that there is nothing but the moment you're living in with the lyrics "here's to now, and to nothing else", and as a person who spends most of their time living in the past I needed this to realize that there is no changing the past, and the future is farther than you think, so what better place to be than in the moments as they come? The song reminds me of the shows that bands like The Maine put on and take you into another dimension of nothing but pure bliss. Sweaty people, loud instruments, and memories that last a lifetime, but only if you live in them as they occur. Whether you're alone in a crowded room or surrounded by the people who love you the most this song is a constant reminder that you control how much you enjoy the moments you're living in and you never have to stop living in them.

2. Bad Behavior.

The first single to be released from the album left me in a place of what it feels like to be a fan of The Maine, what their music does to me, and how it relays itself in my everyday life. With lyrics like "I inhale you in small does, but adore you like the roses, you're bad for me", this song hit me where it hurt, but in the best way possible. The catchy melody and danceable beat tell a story, as most songs do, about what a family The Maine has created with their fanbase.

3. Lovely.

The first of three interludes takes you on a little break and perfectly transitions you from "Bad Behavior" to the next full song on the album "Black Butterflies and Deja Vu", which is also section 2 of the album.

4. Black Butterflies and Deja Vu.

Another upbeat song to get you in a euphoric mood, welcome to "Black Butterflies and Deja Vu". I would be lying if I said this was my favorite song on the album because it's genuinely hard for me to pick one, but from the second I hit play when this song was released, it was one of the best things that had ever graced my ears. This song came at a time in my life unlike one I had never experienced, one where I couldn't form the words to describe what I was feeling about the situations I was in and the people I was with, and it made me feel like it was okay to be totally dumbfounded by my inability to articulate any audible sound at all. There are times in your life where there are things you can't react to because everything is new, and I learned that with lyrics like "you crash like a rolling wave, you come around I lose my brain, when I look at you".

5. Taxi.

Okay so maybe I lied about not having a favorite song on the album because I am a little biased to this one. Track 5 on Lovely Little Lonely is the greatest musical masterpiece anyone could have ever thought up, but I'm only a little biased. Taxi to me is a conversation between two people, and getting the reassurance that no matter how dark the world may seem, or how beat up you may feel by it, that you'll never be alone with the people you love and who love you. There will always be sad things occurring, you will always have something to be sad about, but it doesn't mean that the sadness has to overcome you. For me, this song is The Maine's way of letting their fans know that they're never going to leave us. Now I understand that at some point or another, the possibility of them not making music could be there, but we will always have the music and the memories.

6. Do You Remember? (The Other Half of 23).

This song to me is all about the invincibility of being young and in life with your life and the people you surround yourself with. The Maine talks of memories they have and maybe not doing what was right all the time, but not caring so much about that and about living the life that they sought for themselves and for the people that meant the most to them. A perfect Summer song, "Do You Remember? (The Other Half of 23)" inspires me to take each day and enjoy the moments that I have with my friends because I am experiencing them and the people I surround myself with are the people that shape me into who I'm supposed to be.

7. Little.

The end of "Do You Remember? (The Other Half of 23)" brings us to interlude number 2 on the album, which brings us to another section of the album. "Little" is another for the most part instrumental track with a message that it took me a decent amount of time to decipher. Among the instruments, you hear a very distorted voice speaking. After a handful of listens, I learned that the message of the song was that no matter how you feel about the situation you're in or the path you're taking that everything will be okay in the end, even if the path you're taking is alone. The instrumental ends with a seamless transition into track 8, "The Sound of Reverie".

8. The Sound of Reverie.

"The Sound of Reverie" takes you to a place where you're informed that while it is important to be aware of the past and what it has laid out in front of you, that it means nothing if you don't celebrate just what it has given to you. "The past is in the rearview and the future holds no weight" were the lyrics in this song that solidly compacted that into my brain. Things change and people don't stay around forever, losing the familiar is inevitable, but that doesn't mean it has to ruin you. Losing the familiar just makes room for new and improved, and you'll see just what good the world has in store for you if you let it.

9. Lost in Nostalgia.

A shorter song on the album, "Lost in Nostalgia" wants you to do just the opposite as we enter the last leg of the album. The Maine wants fans to be reminded it is never too late to live in the present instead of getting stuck in what they thought was good in the past.

10. I Only Wanna Talk to You.

An ever present message in this album we find ourself back to the place where the present is the most important place to live in, and in "I Only Wanna Talk to You", The Maine expresses that despite the way you feel about the past and how you've been treated in it that it goes forward. You don't have to be sure about the way you feel, or the decisions you make, but if you have someone that gives you that certainty that you have to embrace it as it happens.

11. Lonely.

The last interlude, and the second to last song on the album, "Lonely" leaves you with a somber feeling. The lyrics of this song discuss that there's the sadness you feel and how it cripples you into thinking that you will drown under its current, but there will be something to drag you out of it.

12. How Do You Feel?

"How Do You Feel?" is a song I think I personally found the most solace in on this album. Everyone goes through a time when they feel like life isn't amounting to much and they are just waking up everyday to follow the same mundane routine to go to sleep at night, and redo the whole thing the next day for the rest of their lives. This song is about taking the life you're living and actually living it. So many of us are guilty of not doing the things we desire because of fear or being sad or a million other things, and no one is going to ask you how you're feeling all the time or if you're really living life the way you want to. You have to ask yourself that question every single day when you wake up, and if the answer is ever a negative one or no, it's up to you to change that.

So we've come to the end of the album, the end of another timeless piece of art from The Maine, and an end to this era of music for them. Music is something that has always been very personal to me, something that has always impacted the things I believed and the way I portrayed myself. Aside from this album, The Maine has been there to soundtrack my life through the good times and the bad. They have taught me how to love, how to let go, what I should do about what's important to me, etc. If you've made it to the end of this article and are a fan, were a fan, or could be a new one in the making...thank you. Thank you for lending your eyes and ears as The Maine has been thanking myself and the rest of the 8123 family from 2007 until forever.