There seems to have been something in the universe that is working to stop Maddie Marlow and Tae Dye from making it. With their first record label, Dot Records, going into liquidation after the release of their debut album, it seems typical that now they are releasing their sophomore album amidst a global pandemic. However, the years since Start Here, have shaped the duo into mature, thoughtful and introspective artists. Their sophomore album ‘The Way It Feels’ is classy, balanced and artfully crafted. If the universe doesn’t have their back, then we sure do.
Maddie Marlow and Tae Dye first snuck into the country consciousness in their late teens with the release of their standout smash, ‘Girl in a Country Song’ from debut record Start Here. Since then, they have been faced with a great number of trials – including the liquidation of their former record label, Dot Records – now they are back with their sophomore record The Way It Feels that shows a great deal of depth in emotional maturity, complexity and writerly insight.
Although a lot of the tracks on the record were released prior to the 10th April – on their EP or on pre-releases – the body of work in its entirety feels fresh. Contextualised, tracks like ‘Bathroom Floor’ pack an even bigger punch than they did on first listen and it is the five new tracks on this album that are the real stand-out moments.
The deep friendship between Maddie & Tae is palpable throughout the album, in the tight harmonies that breathe as one voice, the depth of their emotional lyrics and their ability to push and lift each other vocally. The album reads like a conversation the two might have on a human level, offloading their issues in real ‘girl talk,’ it’s humorous, touching, emotional and delightful in equal measure.
The album opens with ‘Everywhere I’m Goin’ that reads as a kind of love letter to America itself, as well as a love song – both Dye and Marlow recently married their long-term boyfriends. Indeed, Dye’s husband, hit songwriter Josh Kerr, supplied co-writes for next track ‘Bathroom Floor’ and later track ‘Write a Book’ – both sublime tracks. The former is blissfully empowering, reading as a ‘girl chat’ advising girls to move on. ‘Get up off your bathroom floor, let’s wipe the tears off your cheeks / Put on a dress and get out that door.’ The track is surely fantastic in its live retelling, full of sass and energy, and feels like the more mature and sophisticated version of ‘Girl in a Country Song.’
‘My Man’ is the first ‘new’ song on the album and is an honest track about being in love. ‘This ain’t a song about leaving / This ain’t a song about calling it off.’ The track has a surprisingly groovy bass track that makes it more interesting than a conventional love song. There is a feeling in the album – present in ‘Trying on Rings’ that narrates Marlow’s lovestory with her husband and in the groovy ‘Write A Book’ – that the duo are not afraid to reveal all parts of their souls and are no longer afraid to share their happiness and comfort in their love stories with the world. This feels refreshing. So often, love stories are avoided in country music in favour of heartbreak songs, yet the duo have excelled in groovier, catchier love songs.
The track is followed up by a more classic break up song ‘Tourist in This Town’ about starting over again in the same place. ‘It’s not like I forgot places we went / But now they’re monuments to what I thought it meant.’ This is where the truly clever and artful songwriting in the album starts in the record. Taking a conventional theme, the duo write a track that has real lyrical complexity and feels clever and continues the theme of later track ‘Die From A Broken Heart.’ So too, ‘Drunk and Lonely,’ where the duo’s harmonies are really showcased feels more sophisticated than their original material. ‘You’re either feeling that buzz or your sheets are getting old.’ The production here is flawless, letting the girls vocals ebb and flow in waves, giving them moments to sing without a backing track. Rounding out the trio of ‘heartbreak’ or ‘break-up’ songs is ‘One Heart to Another,’ Maddie & Tae sing of the heartache of seeing an ex move seamlessly to the next. There is so much emotional depth in this song, pain in seeing a lover move on, confusion in how they can move on so easily and anger at ‘that spell‘ that a lover can put them under. Where the duo have truly amped up their game on this album is in the emotion they have infused into their vocal, it is so nuanced, so emotionally-packed and the result is spell-binding.
The depth and maturity in this album should not be understated, and the later portion of the album packs the biggest punch here. ‘Water in His Wine Glass’ is possibly the greatest track the girls have written so far, a song about dealing with an alcoholic, yet peppered with religious imagery. The track is heart-wrenchingly sad and poignant, stripped back to really showcase the duo’s harmonies. ‘Lord pour water in his wine glass / Bring the man he used to be back.’ The lap steel in the background is the real stroke of genius to pluck the heartstrings.
Final standout track is ‘I Don’t Need To Know,’ the penultimate track on the album, where the duo sing about not wanting to be told about what an ex-lover is doing. ‘The only thing worse than my imagination / Is all of these third-party observations.’ The duo’s harmonies here are simply flawless and it again reads as another ‘girl talk’ track.
It felt like there was a lot of pressure on Maddie & Tae to deliver with this sophomore album and they more than stepped up their game. Lyrically and emotionally, The Way It Feels is another ball game in comparison to Start Here and vocally the duo have amped up their game too. There is so much emotional content in this record and the result is a flawlessly deep ‘girl talk’ that is immensely relatable. The Way It Feels is emotionally rich and vulnerable.
Editor’s Picks
Water In His Wine Glass
I Don’t Need To Know
Drunk or Lonely
