This Friday, Maddie & Tae will kick off a new era of their music with the release of Through the Madness Vol. I. Here, we review the album and give our thoughts on the stunning new project.
Maddie & Tae have been through the ringer in the country industry. Starting off their career with an album that earned a huge amount of acclaim, the duo’s label consequently went under and the duo spent years navigating the lows of the industry. Then they released their stunning album The Way It Feels and earned a spot on Carrie Underwood’s tour, now on Friday the pair will release their new album Through the Madness Vol. I that is arguably their best music to date, revealing a new mature and increasingly heart-felt side to their music that can not be ignored.
There’s certainly a harmony to Maddie & Tae’s music that goes beyond their stunning, layered vocals. It’s in the depth of the lyrics and the way that they seem to push each other to dive deeper. That bond has been tested over the years in what they have been through in the industry, as Font shares, ‘When you’ve been through as much as we have… Our relationship is the force that keeps us going. Everything, and I mean, everything fell apart – except Tae and I. It’s hard on your heart, your body, your soul. Getting chewed up and spit out is just part of [this business], but having somebody in there with you? It makes all the difference.’ That bond runs deep through the lyrics on Through the Madness Vol. I, there’s a fearlessness in the lyrics and production – something seems to have been unleashed since their last projects. Speaking of the writing of the project, Font shares, ‘There’s an energy of ‘We got this…that’s really the energy of this project. Strip everything away, and it’s where and who we are. Doubt and fear are part of the energy for everyone; but we know how it works, how to work through it – and we use it.’ Laughing along, Kerr finishes, ‘We’ve never had a hard time saying, ‘No.’ There’s an expectation with us in a writing room: if something’s cheesy or inauthentic, we redirect. Immediately. Because honestly, we have to be honest. If it’s not us, we’re not finishing the song.’ When the pandemic hit, they turned to the writers who knew them the best – including Tae’s husband Josh Kerr – to aid them in writing the record.
There is nothing cheesy or inauthentic about this new project, a stunning record that shows an inherent understanding of their journey so far, where their previous records have shared the emotions of love, trials and tribulations, here Maddie & Tae talk to their fans with the wisdom of older sisters and approach the complexities of love from a more adult and mature angle. The maturity is hammered home on the collaborations on the record – respectively with Morgane Stapleton and Lori McKenna – that are easy stand-outs on the record. On the former, ‘Don’t Make Her Look Dumb,’ the duo offer a heart-rending warning to a playboy on behalf of a friend. ‘We all mind our own business, until hearts start to break / Bad boys seem like a good idea, til its too late… It seems like you’re enjoying this, like you’re doing it for fun / If you don’t love her, leave her, tell her that you’re done / Just don’t make her look dumb for loving you.’ There’s a richness to Stapleton’s vocal that gives the track gravitas and necessary depth on the second verse and the result is utterly sublime, brought to life by a gorgeously traditional country production. On the latter track, the duo team up with Grammy-winning writer Lori McKenna in an aching track about survival and resilience. ‘There’s strength in the weakness and light in the pieces / Even broke down hearts know how to shine.’ It’s a calm, wise track, given an extra layer of depth with the addition of McKenna’s vocals – a song so many will need to hear. There’s a trust in the way that they share these songs, a plea for external understanding.
Of course, the duo are a far cry from the teenagers who released ‘Girl in a Country Song’ as wives – and Tae now as a mother. So, there is a deep authenticity on the love songs on the record. On ‘What It’s Like Loving You,’ the duo sing with an easy joy about the ease of loving someone good as they sing about the possibility of love, ‘Do I got to kiss you first or do I gotta lean in? / Will you take me home to momma just a couple of weeks in.’ It’s a hard line to avoid the cheese in a song like this, but they’ve accomplished that, instead creating something joyful and free in its delivery. The duo dig their heels in deep to the depths of love on ‘Strangers’ where they question how they could have ever not known their husbands and on ‘Madness,’ a stunning song about the resilience of love – that feels pertinent after the last several years. ‘If the world goes mad, if it all goes bad / If the world goes mad, I’ll love you through the madness, babe.’
There is a deep celebration of themselves that is revealed on ‘Woman You Got,’ diving into their own quirks and messes.’I’m a constant roller coaster of emotions / And by the time you think you’ve got ’em figured out / Mmm, there’s a layer underneath another layer / Will they ever end? I even have my doubts.’ It’s a joyful and utterly unapologetic celebration of themselves that feels both liberating and powerful. There’s a similar ease, joviality brought into ‘Grown Man Cry,’ where the duo turn the tables and offer a warning to a man about a potential temptress and on the throwback and deeply fun ‘Wish You The Best’, the track brings back the energy of ‘Girl in a Country Song’ and it’s a joy to behold.
Through the Madness Volume I is joyful, hopeful, introspective and poignant – everything country music should be. If you think you know Maddie & Tae think again, this project is a demonstration of the full depth of their capabilities.
