We Bet You Can’t ‘Bend/Break’ MAYPINE’s Brilliant New EP [Exclusive EP Stream]

Brighton band Maypine are set to release their new EP Bend/Break on July 6th and, not only did vocalist Jase provide an insight into the inspiration behind the EP, but we’re streaming the entire EP in full ahead of the official release on Friday.

“Bend/Break is a record that portrays a struggle. Not only does the lyrical content reflect this, but it was a tough record to write. We were worried about its reception, purely because it’s such as different record to In The Back of My Mind. We were concerned that it wouldn’t be well liked because it strays away from the pop-punk sound associated with ITBOMM, but it’s definitely the truest reflection of our band and the music we want to create. It’s a real melting pot of influences. We’re a diverse band, with vastly different musical tastes, but I think with B/B, we were able to capture the essence of that, in a group of songs that really sound the way we want MAYPINE to sound.

“Give” captures that desire to have big riffs and choruses, “Weather” captures that easy listening vibe, “Kodokushi” captures the desire to have songs that really mean something and “Together Alone” captures the raw energy that I think we put across in our live shows. I think we’re all extremely proud of what we managed to create. Writing B/B was the ultimate form of catharsis. We had a really enjoyable time with Neil, Daly, Kurt and Elliott at the Ranch and we’re really grateful to all of them for helping us craft this record. We’re really excited for people to hear Bend/Break when it drops and can only hope that it resonates with whomsoever listens to it in the way that it does with us.”

The band discuss the inspiration behind their new material further with this track-by-track breakdown.

1. Give
“I think “Give” was the first song I began to write for Bend/Break. I’d just moved out of my parents house and into a new flat, trying to put the stress of the fire behind me. I set up a little recording studio in the 2nd bedroom. It was like a man cave of guitars and musical equipment. I had the main riff tracked but I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with it. I took it to Becky and she helped me to refine the track. This song is perhaps the most lyrically honest on Bend/Break. I’m always quite an honest songwriter but this one is a true reflection of how I was feeling at the time. I really felt like I reached my emotional breaking point. Recording with Neil was a really enjoyable experience. We layered up a bunch of guitars. Different variations of chords, different guitars, different amp tones/pedal combinations and I think that really made it sound as huge as possible. The vocal harmonies were a killer. I’d really like to thank Daly for pushing me on those. I was in the room when James tracked the drums for this and he blew me away. When he played the fill at the end of the track, I just started laughing… I couldn’t believe he’d pulled that out of nowhere!”

2. Kodokushi
“I believe the English translation is akin to ‘Lonely Death’ or ‘Fear of dying alone’. I wrote this one about a former colleague of mine, who sadly passed away. His story hit me very hard! I think it resonated with me that nobody should have to face the unknown alone. And for that reason I chose to encourage the positive message of reconciling with those closest to you. Life is far too short to hold grudges and to not build bridges. It was really great tracking vocals with Becky! She didn’t sing on our previous record and I think was really nervous about it, having only recently begun singing backing vocals, but she smashed it!”

3. Weather
“This song is perhaps the most different sounding on the EP. It’s really old too. I wrote the song at the very beginning of Maypine but I think we felt it wasn’t really ‘us’ at the time. Once we began writing for Bend/Break, it became clear that it could work nicely and so I set about re-writing it. It used to be called “Happy Song”, so named because it’s the only happy song I’ve ever written… It’s a love song. My fiancee definitely inspired me to write a happier track. Her support means the world to me.
I recorded some falsetto harmonies on this track. They were definitely challenging to track, made even more so by Dan making stupid faces at me through the glass. The joke’s on him now though because he has to sing them live!”

4. Together Alone
“”Together Alone” is the last track we recorded at The Ranch. Tommy came up with the song and concept that would evolve into “Together Alone”. We’d spent a lot of time developing the other tracks in pre-production but this one got a little less love in the writing process. We therefore spent a while working on this one in the studio. Everything from structure, to vocal melodies to lyrical content was edited in the studio and I’m definitely proud of what we were able to create. This is my favourite track on the EP and one of my favourites to play live too! It’s the heaviest track we’ve written to date and I feel like it definitely meshes all of our influences together in a neatly wrapped bundle.”

You can pick up a physical copy of the EP here or a digital copy here.

Tour Dates:
07/06 – Ashford – The Junction
07/07 – London – The Slaughtered Lamb
07/08 – Worthing – Bar 42