The memory of the first time that I saw The Mallett Brothers Band in concert is seared into my brain. I watched them blow the roof off of the venue on a long-ago night as their intoxicating stage performance brought fans to their feet. They were dancing and singing along with the band songs while wearing broad smiles on their faces. I was actually one of those smiling people. I also remember silently thinking to myself “So this is what a hard-rocking, head-banging, buttkicking, good time band from Maine sounds like?” I needed to look no further than the stage in front of me to have that thought confirmed.

Formed and fronted over a decade ago by brothers Luke and Will Mallett who are the bands principle songwriters and lead vocalists, TMBB members include Wally Wenzel on lead guitar and dobro, Brian Higgins on drums, Andrew Martelle on fiddle, mandolin, and guitar, and Nick Leen on bass. Trust me when I say that this is a band that has steadily evolved to the point where they’re now running a very close second behind lobsters the state of Maine’s most successful export. As a unit, on stage they all sing and play like well-oiled machine, and as musical artists their artistic maturity is still rapidly unfolding. A tangible proof point of this can be found in “Gold Light” their newest album, and eighth full-length release. They are currently out on the road promoting it with gusto.

For this Portland, Maine,-based band of brothers, there was a ray of light peeking through those very dark days of the pandemic as it afforded them the opportunity to focus on fine-tuning the material and allowed them to spend a great deal of time in the studio. The finished product reflects the fact that their time away was indeed a splendid isolation. Their efforts have resulted in Gold Light being their finest work to date. This album may be The Mallett Brothers Band’s shining moment.

Asked about the inspiration for Gold Light, Will Mallett says, “We wrote most of the songs on the album between 2017 when “Vive L’ Acadie” (a previous album) came out, and 2020 when the pandemic hit, so we had a lot of ‘livin’ to draw from.” On how much time the band actually spent on writing and recording it he says, “We recorded this at our little studio in Portland, Maine, mostly over the course of 2020, but some of the songs had been written before that in 2019.” As to the album’s theme, he explains, “We didn’t write the songs with a common theme in mind, but when it came time to start thinking about releasing an album we had some tunes that we knew we wanted to be on there – ‘Colfax’ ‘Different Time’, etc. – so starting there we sort of picked songs that felt like they were in the same ballpark. Looking at the songs we did realize that a lot of them were about the creative life or the creative process.” Along those lines he adds, “Luke has a great line in ‘Colfax – ‘I better find a voice to make my presence known before I’m gone,’- that I just love, and I think that sort of sums up the theme of the album.”

This is a band that doesn’t fit into any preconceived genre. The Mallett Brothers Band simply can’t be pigeonholed as their eclectic musical output straddles rock, country, Americana and even a dash of metal every once in a while. At different times, I’ve heard the faint echoes of Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, and even a bit of John Mellencamp in their song stylings. They offer something for everyone, and Gold Light amplifies their broad based appeal.

The album kicks off with the straightforward rock song “Livin’ on Rock ‘N Roll” with muscular, rapid-fire guitar lines serving as the underpinning for the timber of Luke Mallett’s gritty and growling tenor voice. There is the pronounced feeling of honesty, happiness and contentment in doing something that one truly loves to do in life in this lead-off track. Being in a band and playing the music that they love for a living comes shining through in the lyrics.

“I coulda been a lotta things with a lot better pay

Got six steel strings that I’m itchin to play

Have a damn good time so to hell with the money

I’m livin’ on rock ‘n roll”

Asked about the personal tone and feel to it, Will offers,” ‘Livin’ on Rock ‘N Roll’ would definitely be partially autobiographical.” The track “Buffalo” also travels a bit deeper into the voyage of self-discovery as Will Mallett finds common ground between a man’s chosen lifestyle and the sad plight of the Buffalo. The song kind of sneaks up on you as it morphs into soaring and majestic feel that draws you in and sweeps you away.

“Accidental Alchemy,” the album’s closing track, is also the album’s standout cut. With a subtle brilliance it is a deep, introspective and penetrating song that delves into the personal choices that one makes on the journey through this life.

“Should I have been all the things that I wasn’t?

Will I leave behind a song somebody might sing?

Did I show my love that she meant more than any of my adventures?

Or do her wrong by being gone and chasing my own dreams?”

Of this track Will Mallett says, “When Luke first sent a phone recording demo of Accidental Alchemy my mind was kind of blown. Definitely love that track.”

We all have favorite cuts on albums, and on Gold Light that favorite one for me is “Mexican Hat.” It is an up-tempo song that makes you want to sing along. In a storyteller’s singing voice that has the smooth feel of aged Kentucky bourbon in it, he spins a narrative of a man falling in love at first sight with an alluring waitress in a diner in “A town called Mexican Hat.” He marries her and raises a family while working at a dreary job in an oil refinery that he hates. He finally quits the job in favor of writing a novel to pay the bills. I must confess that, more than once while in the privacy of my living room, I’ve given in to the guilty pleasure of playing some of my very best air guitar listing to that tune. In its way, “Mexican Hat” is infectious.

When asked if this album is a departure for the band, the younger Mallett brother says, “For sure. Each album has been a departure of sorts. For better or worse, just because life happens and your perspective keeps changing, you know? But I think this one, while it’s a little more rock ‘n roll than some of our earlier stuff, is the best representation of the live show that we’ve been able to capture in the studio.”

As I say, in my mind, thus far Gold Light, is indeed the jewel in the crown for The Mallett Brothers Band. At its core, it is a rock ‘n roll album of thoughtful and penetrating songs about the rush of life. This is the kind of album that you never get tired of replaying. Gold Light just might be an ‘Abbey Road’ moment for the band.

Paul Collins is a freelance writer from Southborough, Massachusetts.

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