It’s hard to believe that an artist with as high a profile in the scene as The Maine could release a CD that nobody noticed. But their latest EP, In Darkness & In Light, seems to have flown totally under the radar. It slipped out quietly in the last week of 2010 with little promotion or publicity, ostensibly as a companion piece to the band’s short film of the same name. Perhaps because of this, or perhaps because it’s primarily a collection of b-sides, the EP has hardly made a blip. It’s a real shame because In Darkness & In Light is not just as good as anything the band has released— it’s also a significant step in the band’s maturation.

The first three tracks of In Darkness & In Light are wholly new. “Untangle Me,” a b-side from the Black & White sessions, is a straightforward, midtempo rocker as solid as anything on that album, though its hook isn’t quite as killer as we’ve gotten used to from The Maine, but face it, we’re spoiled. “Free (Home Recording)” surges like a Kings Of Leon track through its verses, and “Book Of Me And You (Home Recording)” features a note perfect guitar hook. All three, if not quite single-worthy, would have made perfectly good deep cuts on Black & White. But it’s after these that things get interesting.

“Whoever She Is (Home Recording)” completely recasts a track from The Maine’s debut LP, Can’t Stop Won’t Stop. Once a sweet acoustic-guitar-and-piano number, this new version dirties things up with mid-90s alt-rock guitars and a driving backbeat, and a glorious new instrumental bridge. The grime suits the song well. It’s followed by a live acoustic rendition, campfire-style, of Black & White single “Growing Up.” With the big production stripped away, the spare recording deftly showcases singer John O’Callaghan’s nuanced strain. Similarly, “Washroom Color” strips down Black & White’s “Color” to its core, replacing the heavy production of the original with a spare acoustic-guitar-and-Dylanesque-harmonica arrangement. Its rugged shuffle breathes life and vibrancy into what had previously been a weak spot in the band’s catalog.
 
Perhaps best of all is “Saving Grace (Take 2).” The original was a straightforward midtempo rocker with a strong chorus. The “Take 2” version might as well be an entirely new song, with a reverb-drenched acoustic arrangement. It’s spare and sparse, colored with keys and horns that drift in and out quietly like a fog on the sea, and recalls the best weird, dark moments of Wilco’s ouevre, especially as it disintegrates into fuzzy spikes and sputters of electric guitar. And where the original’s “keep on searching” outro vocal hook could have been lifted from a Third Eye Blind track, here it becomes a haunting mantra, persistent and ghostly. “Saving Grace (Take 2)” is totally uncharted territory for The Maine, and it hints that their potential might be greater than even their most ardent supporters realized.

The EP concludes with the 18-minute instrumental score for the short film, most of which sounds like nothing the band’s ever done before. There are dusty country-rock motifs, gauzy atmospheric beds, dramatic martial swells, and perhaps most interesting: a bluesy, fuzzed out guitar scorcher at around the 13:30 mark. It serves as the perfect endcap for what seems to be a transitional EP. If this is where The Maine 3.0 are headed, I couldn’t be more excited for the future.

****.5/*****

*This review was composed by Jesse Richman