Based in the Bay Area of California in the USA, Mae Powell is a singer-songwriter whose second full-length Making Room for the Light is due to be released August 15 on the Karma Chief label of Colemine Records. Powell’s prior LP came out in 2021, and it’s clear through her new album’s 11 songs that she’s been hard at work on a follow-up. Making Room for the Light is released on vinyl (moonlit swirl and black), compact disc, cassette, and digital.
“Tangerine” opens Making Room for the Light by unifying Powell’s beautiful but sturdy and indeed jazzy vocal with backing in full rock band (and to pinpoint, full Band) mode, including rich swells of organ and chiming guitar licks. The following track, “Where Will Love Go?” scales it back at the start and then kicks it into gear with crisp rhythm, only to surge in the back end and then let it flow. The comparison to Karen Dalton is astute, but Powell’s not a copyist but rather a singer who is not just comfortable but thrives in a classique West Coast mode.
The unhurried country-rock singer-songwriter strum of “It Comes in Waves” is a case in point. It’s naturally Laurel Canyon-esque, meaning it’s a similarity that’s not calculated. But then “Rope You In” shifts into lightly psych-kissed territory with beaucoup guitar flourishes reminiscent of The Beatles circa Abbey Road (side two).
Powell is legitimately jazzy as a vocalist, but “Meet Me in a Memory” places her very comfortably into the late 1960s coffeehouse folkie tradition as it was winding down and giving way to those aforementioned singer-songwriters. We’re talking halfway between Verve or Elektra Records and a leftfield early Asylum signee.
“Moonlit Power” sweetly shuffles with more Dalton vibes but crossed with sunny Sunday summer morning flair. “Invisibly” extends this aura and taps into a fragility that avoids becoming too precious. In “Contact High,” Powell lands in a neighborhood that’s not far from The Shacks (the NYC-based duo of Shannon Wise and Max Singer), a comparison that’s pushed even further with the echo-laden production and slow fade out of “Linger.”
Delivering the album a late standout, “Hot Headed” showcases Powell’s talent and surrounds her with warm accompaniment. “Again” briefly tightens the spotlight onto Powell but then expands once more with vibrant backing for the album’s finale. Ultimately, Making Room for the Light succeeds because Powell isn’t approximating traditions but rather extending them into her own thing. There’s room for growth, but Powell’s approach registers as fully formed.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
A-
