Machine Gun Kelly, “maybe” | Track Review

Machine Gun Kelly better captures the pop-punk spirit on “maybe,” the third single from mainstream sellout featuring Bring Me the Horizon.

“I’

m ready to let you go / This time is the last, this time is the last.” Woo – good to know! Colson Baker aka Machine Gun Kelly is now a pop-punk singer.  Following renewed success with 2020’s, Tickets to my Downfall, Kells maintains a melodic direction on his 2022 album, mainstream sellout.  Following mainstream sellout singles “emo girl”  and “ay!”, MGK collaborates with Bring Me the Horizon on his third advance single, “maybe”. The question is, how does “maybe” stack up?

Following a deceptive, slower, moody intro, “maybe” amps up the intensity, much like we’ve heard from Machine Gun Kelly in his transformation from rap to pop-punk.  He performs the first verse, never getting too high per se, but embodying the style (“I try to hide my face like a wanted man (Yeah) / Maybe I’ll be gone before you count to ten”). In the second verse, Bring Me the Horizon frontman Oli Sykes handles most of the vocals, providing contrast to MGK with his higher-pitched vocals. I’d argue the metalcore singer sounds riper than Kells.  From that point on, MGK and Sykes share vocal duties FTW. On the bridge, we get those signature, intense BMTH screams which rock hard .

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Final Thoughts  

All in all, “maybe” is an enjoyable, respectable pop-punk record.  Compared to previous mainstream sellout singles, there’s a bit more magic in my eyes.  Is “maybe” a tour de force for Machine Gun Kelly? No but he better captures the pop-punk aesthetic here.

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Machine Gun Kelly • mainstream sellout • Bad Boy / Interscope • 3.25.22

[ : Bad Boy, Brent Faulkner, Interscope, The Musical Hype, OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay]

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