Remember when you were a kid and you had those books that came with an audiocassette? You would follow along with the recording, turning the pages at the "beep" or whatever noise instructed you to do so.

Chicago-based emo-pop band Mae has attempted to recreate this experience with its new album The Everglow.

While the concept is cute and nostalgic, it's hard to predict how many people over the age of 13 will actually go through the book while listening to the album.

In keeping with the concept, the album begins with a prologue and ends with an epilogue.

The actual music begins with the beautiful piano ballad "We're So Far Away," which leads right into the emotional rocker "Someone Else's Arms," both tracks that raise expectations for the rest of the album.

Mae's material throughout the rest of the album is repetitive at times; about five of the albums 13 tracks could be thrown into B-side's never-never land, but The Everglow does include a few notable gems.

"Suspension" features an epic, soaring guitar lick, and the title track is a very well-crafted pop tune that layers keyboards and guitars over a driving beat and serves as the central theme of the album.

I think Mae was going for a ballad-into-the-epilogue kind of lullaby ending with the seven-minute, ultra-mellow "The Sun and The Moon;" however, the song is annoyingly boring more than soothing.

All in all, The Everglow is worth checking out if you are into the emo-pop thing, or if you feel like turning the page after you hear "this sound."

-- Reviewed by Brandon Linton