By: Sophie Francis
If you haven’t already, go check out the ‘Ones To Watch’ article I wrote on Mae Krell here
On February 16th, Mae Krell, non-binary singer-songwriter out of New York City, released their first EP Anabasis, adding two more tracks to the pre-released singles. All four songs have very powerful themes of hope, empowerment, and recovery, ideas that fit very well with Krell’s style. Similar to the styles of Scars and Monsters, the two new songs combine Krell’s soulful voice with chill, primarily acoustic backing instruments.
Skin, the first of the two new songs, in my opinion is the most powerful song on the EP, both in terms of the song itself and the lyrics. It deals with the difficultly surrounding accepting one’s body following sexual assault, a very sensitive topic that Krell handles very well in this song. The song begins with just Krell and a piano, one of those combinations that you can feel in your soul. It slowly builds into a powerful chorus, then drops off again, leaving any listeners thinking about Krell’s message. Monsters, my personal favorite song by Krell, deals with personal difficulties and struggles, and how they can be pervasive. When paired with Letters to the Hospital and Scars, , the album has a general feel of recovery, despite events and struggles of ones past. I, personally, commend Krell for tackling such difficult to talk about topics, because hearing songs about overcoming ones troubles can be incredibly helpful to people experiencing the same things.
Overall, this is a beautiful EP, and I am very excited to see what Mae Krell has for us next. Check them out (if you haven’t already) with the links below!
MAE KRELL IS GOING ON TOUR!:
They are planning to play primary house shows, so if you or someone you know lives in any of the following cities (the dates are not set in stone, if you live in these cities at all) and are willing to offer them a place to stay, and/or want them to play a show at your house, you can contact Mae through direct message on Instagram and Twitter (linked below), or through e-mail, at sergey@gramphone.media.
June 4th- Hartford, CT
June 5th- Boston, MA
June 6th- Pittsburgh, PA
June 7th- Detroit, MI
June 12th- Nashville, TN
June 13th- Charlotte, NC
June 14th- Charlotte, NC
June 15th- Athens, GA
June 16th- Atlanta, GA
June 17th- New Orleans, LA
June 18th- Houston, TX
June 19th- Dallas, TX
June 20th- Dallas, TX
June 21st- Tulsa, OK
June 22nd- Denver, CO
June 23rd, Denver, CO
June 24th- Ogden, UT
June 25th- Salt Lake City, UT
June 26th- Provo, UT
June 27th- St. George, UT
June 28th- Joshua Tree, CA
June 29th- Los Angeles, CA
June 30th- Sacramento, CA
July 1st- Portland, OR
July 2nd- Seattle, WA
July 3rd- Somewhere in MT
July 4th- Minneapolis, MN
July 5th- Minneapolis, MN
July 6th-8th- Chicago, IL
July 9th- Cincinnati/Columbus OH
July 10th- Philadelphia, PA/ Washington, D.C.
Find Mae: instagram – twitter – photography – website – anabasis
Find Me: instagram – photography – twitter
