Mae Powell: Making Room For The Light [Album Review]

Mae Powell
Making Room For The Light
Colemine/Karma Chief Records [2025]

“Mae Powell channels Laurel Canyon spirit with a voice that feels both timeless and refreshingly alive.”

Album Overview: San Francisco-based singer-songwriter Mae Powell is one of the most recent additions to the ever-growing Colemine/Karma Chief roster, but she’s been sowing her musical seeds for nearly a decade. After a string of singles and a debut LP (2021’s Both Ways Brighter), she crossed paths with Steve Okonski (keyboardist for Durand Jones and the Indications, as well as his eponymous jazz group) and eventually found a home for her second album, Making Room For The Light, on the Loveland, Ohio label.

Musical Style: Powell’s silky vocals are the main attraction on Making Room, shapeshifting to fit each track while retaining her jazz and folk-influenced singing style. Her excellent band backs her up with sympathetic playing that balances organic sounds with ethereal textures, creating an atmosphere that’s both grounded and dreamy, often at the same time.

Evolution of Sound: Powell’s earlier work blended her subtle jazzy elements with a healthy dose of pop-psych that evoked the history of her Bay-area origins. On Making Room, those aspects are still present, but are stripped back in favor of an earthier folk-based approach. Powell’s vocals also lean into her voice’s distinctive qualities here, a choice that makes the songs more immediately ear-catching (in a good way).

Artists with Similar Fire: Despite Powell’s San Francisco pedigree, Making Room feels more like an L.A. album in the classic Laurel Canyon sense, bringing to mind artists like Joni Mitchell, Judee Sill, and Linda Perhacs. While the sound isn’t necessarily vintage, it does feel like a natural descendant of those classic singer-songwriter records.

Pivotal Tracks: Opener “Tangerine” is one of the album’s standouts, a track that perfectly showcases Powell’s vocal abilities with a backing track that sounds like something The Band might have created for Music from Big Pink. “It Comes In Waves” is another early highlight, with gentle acoustic strums and pedal steel complementing layers of vocal harmonies and plinking piano. “Meet Me In A Memory” and “Contact High” show off different sides of Powell’s jazz inclinations, while “Moonlit Power” demonstrates her ability to craft effortless vocal melodies.

Lyrical Strength: Many of the lyrics on Making Room For The Light deal with the kinds of personal topics just about anyone can relate to, especially relationships and self-doubt. But there are also moments of confidence throughout, and Powell has a knack for metaphors and creative imagery that stick with you (“My heart is a tangerine / That I left in the bottom of my bag / For three days, and now / Everything smells like oranges”).

Final Groove: Making Room For The Light isn’t a flashy album that instantly grabs your attention, but one that gently reels you in instead. Powell’s vocals and atmospheric arrangements place you under their spell with each subsequent listen, revealing layers in the production, lyrics, and performances. If you need an album to clear your head and put you in a calmer state of mind, Making Room For The Light just might be the ticket.

MAE POWELL LINKS
Instagram | Bandcamp | Colemine/Karma Chief Records