Into the waves (Maiah Wynne)
The highly anticipated second album by Maiah Wynne, frontwoman of Envy of None, fully lives up to the songwriting and performing talent she showcased to audiences who first discovered her as a solo artist on her debut album, Out of the Dark. Maiah remains a world away from the progressive sound of the band she’s part of, which includes Alex Lifeson of Rush, who lends his guitar skills to her new solo album.
On Into the Waves, through twelve intimate and fragile tracks, the American artist, who will soon turn 30, draws from her own life to craft songs that blend folk and indie-pop, with no other ambition than to convey the unease of life (“Breathe”), the sacrifices (“Don’t Want to Say Goodbye”), wounds, and betrayals as well, as in “False Gods”: “He shows you a monster inside his hands / Claims that he’s cleansing the sins of man... (...) But you knew not to worship false gods.”
Touching on themes of trauma, anxiety, and resilience, and drawing on bossa nova (“Nothing Stays the Same”), jazz, and electronic music (“Underwater”), Maiah easily wins listeners over, as her lyrics and compositions exude honesty and real-life experience. Recording (and self-producing) on the road, partly during her last tour, sometimes with whatever resources were at hand, turns these tracks into little gems with catchy choruses that you can easily imagine strumming on a guitar at sunset, sharing certain reflections with her (“All of the pressure inside my head / And it feels like I’m losing control”), as well as moments of escape (“Satellites,” “In a Dream”), all within the precarious balance of everyday life.
Maiah Wynne has surrounded herself with talented musicians, from Dan Avidan (of the duo Ninja Sex Party) on “Another Step” to Avelyn Reynolds on violin, Adam Brzycki and Randy Cooke on drums, Bethany Joyce on cello, Brooks Berg on guitar, and Henry Sheppard on flugelhorn. She has created a truly beautiful album that feels like a travel journal, authentic and introspective, mastered by Philip Shaw Bova, best known for his work with Devendra Banhart and Feist, which cements Into the Waves as one of the finest indie-folk albums of 2026.
Comments