After having made music since 2013, Maia, better known as, mxmtoon, released her long awaited debut album, “the masquerade,” on Sept. 13 with 20 songs on it. Nineteen-year-old singer, Maia, uses music as an outlet for raw feelings and describes it herself as, “rhyming diary entries.” Her album is a mixture of feelings similar to what could be found in a diary. The songs are heavily relationship based, but the bases of the songs are all different, which is a change from the normal albums.
The debut album comes strong and boasts 20 songs, which seems like quite a feat for a first album with no featured artists, but it has a good reason for all the tracks. The last 10 songs of the album are acoustic versions of the first 10 songs, for listeners who would prefer that kind of style. This does help to branch out to other audiences and is a great idea for newer artists coming up. It gave off a peaceful vibe and fit well for a couple of the songs.
In the tracks on the album, emotions are everywhere. The songs fit more than one mood and it makes it easier to relate to and enjoy. “prom dress” is a song that explores some regrets as a senior in high school and wondering how things could’ve been different. For that reason, it comes off as a sad song pop song reflecting on her past. “untitled” is a song that discusses two people growing apart and how the memories will be cherished even though the person is no longer around. It’s a spin on what would normally feel like a sad song, but it sheds a positive light on the situation.
Some of the songs on the album are very relationship based songs, but not cheesy love songs. “my ted talk” is just Maia venting about how she writes and performs her love songs, without actually experiencing the scenarios herself. “unspoken words” is a song about growing up and falling in love, but it’s unrequited, unspoken love that grew over time.
“the masquerade” is a well made debut album. It has 10 original songs, each with their own acoustic versions that talk about a variety of emotions, including ways of addressing romantic feelings. It earns 7/10 stars. It can be streamed on iTunes, Spotify, Bandcamp and Google Play Music.