Mae Krell and the melancholy wisdom and beauty of "apollo's song" (Official Video)

 

"the dog meant to outlive me is starting to get old / my best friend's name will change soon / floral blueprints on the floor / and i’ve thought a lot of leaving / the only city i’ve ever known"


The poignant, emotionally falling "apollo's song" by singer songwriter, indie folk artist Mae Krell is the kind of song that sneaks up on you. I won't mince words, Mae's voice is beautiful, a combination of crisp vulnerability, star gazing wistfulness, and a sage like countenance. Couple her voice and melodies with lyrics that contain wisdom and celebrate her visions but also is willing to cut herself with emotional self deprecating knives. Whether Mae is so tough on herself for reasons of catharsis or art or both her words and the way she expresses them touches me deeply and surely will do the same for most reading this.

This song named after Mae's four legged partner also gets to me because it makes me think of my wife and my long lost wondrous pitador Lucy that we let go over two years ago but from time to time I still cry about her leaving us. This is were I respectfully share Mae's liner notes because it contains important things and to re-interpret them would be silly: 

LINER NOTES (bracketed)

[“apollo’s song” first came to fruition last fall as Mae toured the United States with only her dog, her guitar, and a tent on the roof of her car. The duo hiked through national parks on their journey from New York to California and back, and people often stopped to say hello to Apollo and ask about her. As Krell repeatedly informed others that Apollo was seven, she found herself realizing for the first time that she was witnessing her dog age more than she ever planned to.

The accompanying music video for “apollo’s song” features a look at Mae and Apollo’s world and the love shared between one’s closest companion. As Mae blows out her birthday cake for each new year, we watch her get closer and closer to acceptance of the life she’s gained through the grain of Super 8 movie film. The video is a beautiful look into the life Krell has built with Apollo by her side, including a culmination with a hopeful resolve for the future that cannot be understated.]

"apollo's song" is so beautiful with hard emotional edges that are softened by Mae's moving vocal countenance and truly imaginative musical embellishments (the folk jazz dipped bridge is heavenly). Besides the unfettered beauty, this track's hard emotional edges will undoubtedly also be softened over time because time does have the resourceful habit of healing things (kind of).

-Robb Donker Curtius

THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM 

https://soundcloud.com/maekrell

https://www.facebook.com/maekrellmusic

https://open.spotify.com/artist/5OJHIYwDJ1TfeaFLYMSqqe

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnHOEp1_l1BBnfI-7CSI0lQ

https://maekrell.bandcamp.com/

https://www.instagram.com/maekrell/

https://www.maekrell.com/


Armed with earnest lyricism and her acoustic guitar, Mae Krell’s branch of indie-folk personifies the often overlooked emotions that come with the human experience. After starting out as a freelance photographer (with credits at Sony RCA and Rolling Stone Magazine), Mae realized that she had a story that needed to be told from somewhere other than behind the camera. Now five years into her journey as an artist, Mae is a firm believer in making music that feels authentic to her own experiences, aiming to express her innermost thoughts with every song she writes.

With the help of producer and multi-instrumentalist Jakob Leventhal, Mae’s unique sound offers a perfect cushion for deeply vulnerable discussions of mental health and the struggles that plague daily life. Following the success of her 2020 single “garden”, Mae’s latest releases: the imposter syndrome EP and the subsequent imposter syndrome (b sides) revel in poignant and honest evaluations of the world through her eyes.

Mae’s genuine lyricism and fierce desire to break the shame barrier and stigma around mental illness has resonated far and wide as she spent the summer of 2022 on a nationwide tour in partnership with Sofar Sounds, and more recently supported Ethan Jewell on his "Lonely Together Tour". In addition, Mae was one of the 2022/2023 recipients of the LGBTQ+ Emerging Artist Award from Live Nation’s Music Forward Foundation in partnership with CitiBank, which offers just 15 recipients each year with a grant to support their creative artistry.

Mae is currently preparing for her first international endeavor: a 3 week long UK tour in partnership with Sofar Sounds. She just finished recording her debut full length project: an 11 track album accompanied by Super 8 music videos made with her best friend and creative director, Caro Hallock. The album's first track, "apollo's song", is set to release on September 22nd, with the album to follow in April of 2024.





Mae Krell, singer songwriter, musician, vocalist, artist, wistful poetic singer, lovely hard edges, deeply rendered lyrics, "apollo's song" (Official Video),