The Maine’s newest album, ‘Joy Next Door,’ has a dedication-based green journey attached to it

Audrey van Schagen
Thu, 09 Apr 2026 23:11:37 +0000
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Credit: Courtesy of Christina Kotsamanidis

Ten studio albums in two decades is a challenging feat for a band, but it is not impossible.

The Maine, an Arizona-born pop-punk and rock band formed in 2007, is releasing their 10th studio album, “Joy Next Door,” Friday, adding one more album to their already colorful discography.

The band is currently on their “I Love You But I Chose The Maine” tour, but bassist Garrett Nickelsen found time ahead of the Columbus show Sunday at KEMBA Live! to dive into the band’s newest chapter with The Lantern.

Nickelsen said in an email he can’t believe they have 10 studio albums to their name.

“It’s honestly super crazy to have 10 albums out,” Nickelsen said.

Leading up to the album’s release, The Maine began their “Joy Next Door” era with a few singles — “Die to Fall,” “Quiet Part Loud” and “Palms” — that were chosen based on the diversity in what they reflect from the album, according to Nickelsen.

“I think we picked those songs because each one shows a different side of the album, or at least hints at the range of feelings you get throughout the whole thing,” Nickelsen said.

In the broad sense, no single is the same. While “Die to Fall” offers a more “in your face” vibe, according to Nickelsen, “Quiet Part Loud” scales it back to present a chill, calmer side of the record.

As for their single, “Palms,” Nickelsen said it was probably the hardest song to make on the album, due to them having a strong demo — that they were all excited about — to try and replicate without messing up.

“I think each of those songs kind of allude to different moments on the album, and together they give a good sense of what the full record feels like,” Nickelsen said. “That said, we’re really excited about the album as a complete piece. At some point you have to choose songs to release first, and those just felt right.”

With an array of moments flooded throughout the album, Nickelsen said he has no doubt that listeners are going to find ways to connect with it.

“I think people are going to find their own moments on the record that feel special to them,” Nickelsen said.

Now that the album is complete, Nickelsen said the band is ready for people to consume the final product.

“I’m really excited for people to hear this record,” Nickelsen said. “It feels really cohesive, and I think we were able to accomplish things we’ve wanted to do on past records in a way that feels special and really unique to us.”

In their time as a band, The Maine has ventured into many sonic realms, exploring styles from pop-punk to country to psych-rock. Nickelsen said the band worked with producer Sean Silverman, member of Beach Weather and The Technicolors, who helped them find their direction for this album. He said they’ve known each other for 20 years and Silverman has seen the different musical phases they’ve been through as a band.

“When you’ve made that many records, you try not to repeat yourself, so this one definitely feels different,” Nickelsen said. “It’s not super left [of] center from what we’ve done before, but it still feels like its own thing. It sounds like us, but I think there’s more of an organic quality to it, something we’ve been wanting to lean into for a long time.”

One thing that Nickelsen said sets The Maine apart from other bands creatively is their tradition of assigning a color to each one of their eras or albums, something that became a part of their brand over time.

“We started to realize we were using it as a tool to capture the feeling of each record, and some that just developed naturally as we went,” Nickelsen said. “Now it’s something we’ve really embraced and run with, and I think it’s something our fans have connected to as well.”

The color for “Joy Next Door” is green, which Nickelsen said just felt right.

Whether it’s the feeling green brings about or the nature and growth it represents, Nickelsen said the band has found more than one way to connect with the color — it’s even made its way into his everyday life.

“It’s funny once you choose it, you start seeing it everywhere,” Nickelsen said. “It’s like when you’re about to buy a car and suddenly you see it over the road. Now I just see green everywhere.”

The album’s opening track is actually titled “Green,” which starts stripped back and acoustically raw but builds into a moment where Nickelsen said “everything explodes at once,” taking a group effort to reach the climatical energy by the end.

“As soon as we started putting it together, it felt obvious that it should be the opener,” Nickelsen said. “It works as a bit of a mission statement for the record and sets the tone for what’s coming next.”

The Maine’s current tour is their first headline tour in nearly two years, which has been full of joy and “crazy in the best way,” Nickelsen said.

On the tour, the band has been playing some of the biggest shows they’ve ever headlined and mixing up the set every night — pulling not just the new, but some of their older tracks from their discography — which provides fans who attend multiple shows with a fresh experience each time. Nickelsen said he doesn’t think they’ve placed the same set twice.

“罢丑别re’s been a really special energy on this run,” Nickelsen said. “You can really feel it coming back at you in a bigger way, which has been super cool.”