Forever Halloween is over. The Maine has finished touring on their most artistic album yet and are gearing up for the release of their fifth studio album. I’m sitting in my girlfriends apartment sipping my 3rd beer of the evening and listening to “English Girls” for the 20th time. I don’t know if it’s the alcohol or not, but in this moment, I love this song more than anything else pop radio has given me in 2015.
The Maine caught my ear in middle school when Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop was the newest craze in powerpop. My taste grew with their style as they ventured into southern-rock and country inspired pop rock. Now they’ve come full circle and blended a little bit of everything they’ve learned into this wonderful little diddy about some American boys across the pond.
It sets the scene. It’s London, October, and the group is at a pub. Then the chorus kicks in, wasting no time at all. The hook is good and it knows it. The verses know too and they stay short and out of the way, leaving plenty of room for repetition.
I know full well this is a single written as a single. The lyrics are cocky and cute and appeal to the kids who couldn’t give a damn about a good song, but this is a good song. Musically, it’s adventurous and catchy and it’s exactly what The Maine needs. They have the talent and work-ethic to become bigger than the Warped Tour scene they’ve grown up in and I hope American Candy makes that happen for them.