Why Tempe band The Maine's latest album sounds different from their others

Sixteen years on and nine studio albums in, Tempe band The Maine are still finding ways to evolve their sound.

This summer, the indie rock quintet — lead vocalist, guitarist and pianist John O'Callaghan, lead guitarist Jared Monaco, bassist Garrett Nickelsen, drummer Patrick Kirch and rhythm guitarist Kennedy Brock — released a self-titled album. The Aug. 1 release date was not an accident.

The band's use of 8123 dates all the way back to the beginning; the numbers 8123 were displayed in a Tempe parking garage that was the band’s early stomping grounds. At the peak of their adolescence, the parking garage became a place where Nickelsen says boys could “be boys, smoke cigarettes and cuss.”

The Maine use 8123 as the title of their record label, host a music festival called 8123 Fest and nicknamed their fans the 8123 Family.

After releasing their last album, “XOXO: From Love & Anxiety In Real Time,” during COVID-19, the band realized how much they missed performing after being unable to tour, and focused on creating a record meant to be heard live.

“We really wanted to make a great live album, something that would be fun to play in front of people and make people dance and just let loose. Picturing it at a concert was kind of the centerpiece to everything, and it goes off from there, but the big thing, in the beginning, was definitely just like, ‘Yeah, this has to be fun live,’ and everything moved from there,” Nickelsen says.

Each Maine album builds from the last as the band strives to revolutionize their sound by bringing in new influences. Nickelsen says they wanted their latest record to sound different from the rest. To that end, drummer Patrick Kirch took a unique approach, separately recording the drums and cymbals.

“It was a unique thing,” Nickelsen says. “We were listening to interviews with bands, and the band Phoenix and Harry Styles recorded their drums that way, and it was really shocking and bizarre to us on how to do that and make it not sound disjointed.”

O’Callaghan communicates his emotions through his lyrics, addressing topics that range from joy to anxiety about the future. The song “blame” debuted on Alternative Radio on June 26 and talks about navigating a new way of life introduced through the digital age.

“The song ‘blame’ talks about the feeling of what it is to be a human in this internet age and reacting to things like likes. What does that all mean? Is that stuff important? For some people, it is, but I feel like most are like, ‘What is happening?’ I think it’s talking about the time we’re living in, specifically [O’Callaghan] having a child and what that feels like and the anxiety that can come with that joy,” Nickelsen says.

Entering uncharted waters, The Maine took a new approach to their music video for “blame.” Shot at The Nile Theater in Mesa, the band wanted to perform the song live to show the true essence of what it’s like to be in a crowd at a live show. It was a special moment for the band, as the crowd were the real members of the 8123 Family.

“It was the craziness of what a live show feels like from a different perspective. It was crazy because no one had actually heard the song yet when we filmed it,” Nickelsen says. “You never get to see the reaction of people hearing [your song] for the first time, and it was one of the craziest things we’ve ever done.”

After 16 years, that's saying something. The band got their start in 2007. Nickelsen and Kirch were in a local band for years, but things never took off, which left them feeling jaded about the future of their musical careers. Things took a turn in their junior year of high school when they met O'Callaghan, a baseball player looking for a change.

Kirch was skeptical but gave him a shot. O'Callaghan auditioned for a cover of the song "Ivory."

"Pat burned it on a CD, drove over to my house, played me a demo, and we were both on the verge of tears. We never felt like we had a singer who was as good as John, so it just blew our minds. He had never been in a band, so it was just this freaky moment and from that moment, we started," Nickelsen says.

After O'Callaghan joined the band, things started to fall into place. The band had two guitar players who weren't interested in touring. Shortly after, they met the band's current guitar players, Kennedy Brock and Jared Monaco, and it was full steam ahead.

The Maine are currently out on the "Sweet 16 Tour." The tour kicked off on Nov. 10 in San Diego, and the schedule includes two shows at The Van Buren in Phoenix on Jan. 19 and 20. Jan. 20 is sold out, but there are still tickets available for Jan. 19.

Nickelsen says fans can expect to hear songs off every record during the Sweet 16 Tour.

"We're super-excited. We can't ask for a better tour to happen for us," he says.