Australian Singer-Songwriter Ingrid Mae Releases New Album 'Closing Time'
Ingrid Mae has written and produced an album where the broken pieces are beautiful. We know it is “Closing Time” and the party is indeed over but we want to stay. From the first track “No SOS” we are hypnotized by this haunting capture and she holds us there; and we enjoy it.
If “Holy Smoke” was the outlaw cry then “Closing Time” takes us back to the hideout for the after-party with songs like “Like It’s Over” and “Poor Little Thing”.
An explosive writer with the ability to traverse many different moods you can just label her at whim; Alt-country, Americana or Country-Rock. Whatever country bucket she lands in, there’s a Mae-DNA in her music.
It was a labour of love for Ingrid Mae and Rock Guy (drummer and partner) who produced the album. It was a bitter sweet ending to a year that saw the loss of their beloved best friend and bass player, Eddie, who played on all tracks on the album and has been part of the family since the beginning. The new album, “Closing Time”, is dedicated to him and the time they shared in the old shack “707” recording this album back in early 2020.
“I enjoyed producing the album and working with my close friends to achieve what I heard in my head when I wrote the songs”, says Mae.
Bradley Bergen was also a pivotal member of the album team, having previously worked with the dynamics and personalities involved on “Holy Smoke”. This made for a formidable production crew and a great group of friends.
“I feel like this album cuts a little deeper for me than Holy Smoke did”, she says. Coincidentally it’s another group of 14 heavy hitters however it seems the mountains are higher and the valleys are indeed deeper.
Lead single “No SOS”, akin to a western Britney Spears, kicks off the album with a controlled heat. Tricking it up is second track, “How You Do It”, just like “popping the lid off a country bottle of champagne”, says Mae. It’s an observation in ego appreciation and its Robert “Palmeresque” attitude has us all addicted.
We don’t stay up for too long on this ride as “Wayside” hits with all the thunder and predictability of a wooden roller coaster. Tripping vulnerability with delicate guitars hinged on a trance-like train beat, it’s a melancholy that commands peace despite being drawn into a mesmerizing chaos.
Written on the fringes and somehow vulnerable and strong; reticent and revealing we realise where we are. We are at “Closing Time”. The sadness of all that has ended on the cusp of something unknown.
For a female producer who writes her own songs, records in her own studio and commands her own ideas; it’s an album full of surprises yet giving you exactly what you need.
“I’m proud of “Closing Time” as I have gotten more out of it by what we put into it than I could ever imagine. We could have just closed the doors on it once we hit the record button, which in a weird way feels like that’s exactly what we did.”
“Closing Time” is now through Squirrel Music.
Website: ingridmae.com
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