Mae, The Academy Is...

The Everglow, the new album by Virginia-based emo quintet Mae, is the well-meaning counterpart to My Chemical Romance's Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge: Whereas the MCR disc tells the graphic-novel-inspired tale of a guy forced to collect the souls of evil men, Mae models itself after a colorful children's book, complete with the chime that tells you to turn the CD booklet's page. It's a gimmick, sure, but producer Ken Andrews, the dude behind Failure, gives the music a dreamy heft. The Academy Is..., from Chicago, plays tuneful, high-strung emo-rock with more whine than cheese.