American Candy

Background and composition

The Maine were teasing a new album in summer 2014, and then proceeded to announce they would be writing material in Heber, Arizona. Recording took place at Joshua Tree in California with Colby Wedgeworth acting as the producer. He also engineered and mixed the sessions. Recording place between November 12 and December 12, 2014. Ross Garfield was the drum technician at Drum Doctors. Tom Coyne mastered the recordings at Sterling Sound.

The album's sound has been described as alternative rock, indie rock, new wave, pop, pop rock and rock. "American Candy" was originally written for Forever Halloween. Drummer Pat Kirch explained that the song "didn't really fit" Forever Halloween, but the band revived it for American Candy "and made it fit."

Release

"English Girls" was released as a single on February 10, 2015. On the same day, American Candy was announced for release, and the track listing and artwork was revealed. American Candy was released through 8123 Records on March 31. To help promote the release, the band release an acoustic version of "Miles Away" and did a 24-hour live stream. On June 3, a music video was released for "English Girls", which was directed by Daniel Gomes. From late August to early October, the band went on The Free For All Tour; every show of the tour was free-of-charge. They shows took place at out-of-the-ordinary areas such as radio stations, parks and malls. Kirch explained the band wanted the tour to be "a big party and an opportunity" for fans "who can't afford to buy a ticket to come". In between the dates for the tour, the band performed intimate shows where they played American Candy in full. Kirch revealed the band "felt like it was important to do and our fans wanted to hear it".

The band supported Mayday Parade in the UK and Europe in January and February 2016. In March and April, the band went on a co-headlining U.S. tour with Mayday Parade with support from Better Off. The band went on the 2016 edition of Warped Tour.

Critical reception

American Candy received mostly positive feedback from music critics. Mark Deming of AllMusic rated the album three and a half stars out of five, writing that it is "a polished contemporary pop sound that meshes with the band's strong but tuneful approach, and the lyrics are often thoughtful and frequently witty meditations on relationships, popular culture, and the world around us." Annie Zaleski of Alternative Press gave the album four out of five stars and writes: "American Candy is full of the classic-sounding pop-rock they do so well."

American Candy was nominated for Album Of The Year at the 2016 Alternative Press Music Awards.

Track listing

All songs written by The Maine.

1. "Miles Away" – 3:38
2. "Same Suit, Different Tie" – 3:18
3. "My Hair" – 3:15
4. "English Girls" – 3:13
5. "24 Floors" – 3:43
6. "Diet Soda Society" – 3:00
7. "Am I Pretty?" – 3:02
8. "(Un)Lost" – 3:45
9. "American Candy" – 3:48
10. "Another Night on Mars" – 4:26

Personnel

Personnel per booklet.