At this point in her career, singer/songwriter Mae Powell is on the verge of a major breakthrough. After stunning the world with her powerful songwriting and wistful vocals on her 2021 debut, Both Ways Brighter, it was clear the young artist contained multitudes. By tackling socio-political topics and personal emotions alike, Powell was able to put her lyrical and vocal range on full display in an intrinsic fashion, quickly carving a lane for herself in a burgeoning scene. We are now four years removed from this moving debut, and that dreadful yet exhilarating time has come for the artist: the sophomore follow-up.
With the backing of her new label, the beloved Karma Chief Records, Powell prepares Making Room for the Light, her highly anticipated second LP. Across eleven spell-binding, poetic tunes, Powell turns her direction inward for an introspective journey that brings the listener closer than ever to the artist. Through intimate arrangements that find themselves exploring the middle ground between acoustic folk and sweeping soul, Powell lays out a rainbow of emotional, personal truths that are poetically heartbreaking and lonely. Still, it’s the vulnerability of the lyrics that makes this LP such a powerful listen.
On the opening track and single, “Tangerine,” Powell sings, “Vulnerability is a gamble, and I’m putting all of my chips in now.” A beautiful line of songwriting in any context, but as the slow-burning warmth of Making Room for the Light unfurls, this line would prove to be more prophetic. Powell and the album’s producer, David Parry, performed a miraculous musical feat in the way they balanced the album’s sonic exploration with Powell’s self-analysis and moments of clarity. While some of the sonic maneuvers find themselves leaning on nostalgia to a point where these songs lose some freshness, Powell’s honesty proves that Making Room for the Light is far more than a chance to grasp at the current soul revival movement.
Throughout the nearly 40-minute runtime, we are introduced to the person behind the artist. Powell digs deep for moments like “Meet Me in a Memory,” the intoxicating ode to the ups and downs of retreating into your mind, and “Invisibly,” the twinkling ballad with palpable longing. It is these profound moments of rawness that highlight Powell’s maturity as an artist, looking at her place in the world rather than the world as a whole. “Rope You In” places the listener right in the middle of a difficult conversation between Powell as she delicately chooses her words over glistening textures. At the same time “Contact High” emphasizes the point of saving your energy for those who matter on a rare, danceable moment hidden within this touching LP.
Making Room for the Light redefines Powell’s writing and vocal range to fit a more soulful landscape. Her melodies deliver butterflies in the listener’s stomach via masterful tone control, but when combined with Parry’s ability to make the simplistic feel stadium-sized, all of these cherished lyrics become emphasized.
