The Maine dropped their first single, “English Girls,” from their forthcoming fifth full-length, American Candy. The initial SoundCloud stream and pre-order packages listed on the band’s site were quickly followed with the release of a hilarious lyric video, all of which led to the track title catapulting on to the United States’ Twitter trending topics in the first few hours of the reveal.
The five-piece may have continued to mature their sound with American Candy’s first single, but their approach to the lyric video certainly echoes the carefree and fun attitude prominent in their early days of neon hoodies and foil graphic tees. While their physical appearances and sound have continued to evolve, the “English Girls” lyric video made it clear they’re still the same fun-loving guys who just have a more refined focus when it comes to their branding.
The video begins with the members standing in a harsh light between two towers constructed from blue balloons and under a banner with the track’s title emblazoned across it. It shuffles through each member separately, revealing each one’s bizarre attire: guitarist/vocalist Kennedy Brock’s shiny, silver button-down and slicked back ‘do reminiscent of the disco days; drummer Patrick Kirch’s tiara, butterfly mask and scarf; bassist Garrett Nickelsen’s spiked leather jacket with his hair and dark makeup concealing his face and guitarist Jared Monaco’s poofy brown wig/hat hybrid and trumpet. The only “normal” one is vocalist John O’Callaghan who simply sports a black tee and a drink in hand.
O’Callaghan starts off the video’s concept with a microphone in one hand and his drink in the other as the lyrics bounce along the bottom of the screen like a karaoke monitor. While it clearly appears they were trying to give it that vibe, the costumes and balloon set make it seem like more of a high school reunion gone wrong. O’Callaghan sways his way through the video much like he does on stage while Brock, Kirch and Monaco lip sync and dance around with the microphone and other respective props. Nickelsen, however, stays in the character of a goth stereotype by barely moving and actively avoiding eye contact as he mumbles through the lyrics, offering an unexpected humor to the production.
The lyrics of the new track are a pretty uniform love story in the vein of what to expect from The Maine’s latest efforts. O’Callaghan narrates the interaction between an American drifter and a blonde English girl at a bar from the perspective of a group of teenagers (“I can tell he’s pouring honey / Into her ear as / Us teenage kids were getting pissed on cider and black”). The teenager is taken aback by what the drifter says to the girl in the form of the chorus: “And the words he spoke left me in disbelief / He said / “Smoke whatever you’ve got left, / It’s getting late and we don’t have much to lose”/ Well she said, / “English girls they just like sex” / I couldn’t believe when he said ‘I’ve got news for you,’ / ‘American boys do too.’”
The Maine will be hitting the road in April and May for the American Candy Tour with support from Real Friends, Knuckle Puck and The Technicolors. American Candy is a follow-up to 2013’s Forever Halloween and 2014 deluxe re-release. The album will be available March 31st via 8123, but several pre-order packages are posted on wearethemaine.net now.