Track listing: Taken, More By Now, Chicsxulub, Couldn’t Sleep, Laura, Don’t You Ever Sleep, Swearing Off Fame, Tempest, Leap, As Though You Never Left, Shadow of Your Hand, Beaux Rêves

Tucson-based M. Crane just released their latest album, Swearing Off Fame. The project is a full-on pandemic-generated creation, not so much that it is about the experience, but rather that its entire creation happened between January 2020 and December 2022. Forty-six songs poured forth from singer/songwriter Nick Maskill during that time, with 11 of them making it onto the final cut of Swearing Off Fame.

Maskill's voice is at the forefront of each track. A pleading cry, stylistically, his plaintive calls are reminiscent of The Get Up Kids' Matt Pryor; a passionate yearning in his voice that command you to listen to the message he's created for you.

"Taken" is the lead single off the album. A straight-forward mid-tempo rocker punching you right in the feels. Sonically, the rhythm and lead guitars alternate dancing around the vocal, building into a dynamic statement-making chorus.

The album takes a slower approach to things in its latter half, giving way to the strong "Songs By Now" with more delicate, emotional tracks like "Leap" and "Beaux Reaves." The album as a whole belongs in rotation on Alt Nation. The production is crisp, the execution crystal clear, and there's just enough Emo in the strains to remind you of the emotions you've buried deep inside (that you need to let the fuck out).

Keep up with M. Crane's news and latest releases at mcraneband.com.