New Music ! Maddie and Tae Debut Album: Start Here

My ear holes were so happy today. I finally had my hands on the new Maddie and Tae album Start Here. If you don’t know the Country Duo Maddie and Tae (Maddie Marlow and Tae Dye both 20 years old) you likely know their music but soon you will also know their names, faces, and story. Their “hit” list includes their break out single Girl in a Country Song and their current single Fly.

Long before Tomatogate, Maddie and Tae burst on the scene in 2014 with “Girl in a Country Song” which shined the spotlight on the way “females” are talked about in recent country “hits” by artist who frankly couldn’t carry this duo’s guitar straps. It was brilliant and the way Country radio embraced it was awesome to watch too! They were nominated for several CMT Music Awards in 2015 and more nominations will be coming in the future for this duo.

These ladies, while beautiful, have amazing talent and that combination will keep them around for a while. They wrote or co-wrote ALL of the tracks on their album, which includes the songs from their earlier released EP and 6 brand new tracks! They are currently on tour with Dierks Bentley on his Sounds of Summer Tour, if they come near you check them out.

You can find out more about them on their website http://www.maddieandtae.com including a tour schedule.

It’s been a while since I put up a music post and what better way than to do a critique an album that I have literally been waiting on for what seems like forever! What’s awesome about Start Here is that typically there are a few “throw away” tracks on an album, ones that you skip over after a while but I've had this album on repeat all day long and have yet to skip a single track. It’s that good people. Even if you aren’t a “country” fan your soul needs this album.

1. “Waitin’ on a Plane”    *new track

I love the way this duo writes, the way they tell their tale with cleaver metaphors. The line, “cause it’s my time to paint a little streak on a blue sky” makes me see the trail from the plane in the sky as I’m listening to the track. I love when that happens. I also love the expert way they harmonize throughout this track. This track was a great way to start this album cause it’s a girl power type song without throwing it in your face. The young lady in the track is moving on with her life and can’t wait for her next adventure. She’s not running away from anything, she’s running to something and I love that. She’s not waiting on someone to make life better for her, like other female based songs, she’s making it happen for herself, cause she can. That’s what I love most about Maddie and Tae they make girls sound like powerful women with a brain.

2. “Girl in a Country Song”

The first time I heard this track, I was in the car on my way to hear Markus Fox and The Highway on XM radio was talking about this new track and I was in heavy traffic. All of the sudden this song comes on and I’m immediately out of traffic and sucked into this song. I LOVE EVERY LYRIC on this song. It was about time someone said it and that it was these two young unknowns made it even better. I remember telling Markus all about it at his show, I wanted to talk more about this song than what he was up to, which is saying something. I’m not a fan of the “bro country” that’s vomited all over the radio lately and this was such a refreshing sound I couldn’t wait to get home and look it up. Then I got home I was crushed that all I had was their video, which I must have played a million times. I immediately followed them on twitter and read every line on their website. I was so excited when I heard they were releasing an EP. The love from the EP eventually led to this album. I can’t think Maddie and Tae enough for this track because it gave birth to this album and started a dialogue in this genre that was long over due.

3. “Smoke”    *new track

Another new track and when it first came on the fact it was slower made me stop and really pay attention to it. I’m a lyric person, I love lyrics and finding the fun little nods in a song that others might not notice, like Bryan White yelling in the chorus Another Day in the Sun. The chorus of this song is amazing. It’s a fantastic reminder that these ladies know how to string an idea together. I mean whose brain comes up with something like this …

Baby, you're just like smoke, blowing on the wind
One minute, you're by my side and then you're gone again
You might be bad for me, but I just wanna breathe you in
Every time I reach out, I find there ain't nothing to hold
Boy, you're just like smoke

These ladies have mastered the use of metaphors in a song and I for one appreciate the effort.

4. “Shut Up and Fish”    *new track

A fun cute track that's funny as hell! It makes me smile everytime I hear it, and I can’t wait for this video. I can see it in my head as I listen to it. I’m not giving anything away on this track cause if I do I deprive you the joy of hearing it the first time and realizing damn these girls are talented as hell. Is it a little pandering, maybe, but it’s such a fun ride it’s not something I mind. One of my favorite lines on this CD can be found in this song … see if you can guess it :D

5. “Fly”

I am so glad this became their second single, cause when I heard it on the EP I knew these ladies weren’t going to be just “one hit wonders” with GIACS. This was the song that, in my opinion, made these ladies true Artist. It showed their true talent far more than any other track they have released. The first time I heard this song, I won’t lie, I cried. It transported me back to when my Dad basically told me I could do anything when he was leaving me at college for the first time. I was scared as hell about what I had gotten myself into (this was prior to meeting Golden, my suite mate, and realizing that was I was going to be ok) and my dad pulled me aside and “it’s ok to be a little overwhelmed, it’s ok to fail, it’s ok to want to turn and run but you are exactly where you need to be. You have worked for this and you are ready for this now go get em." My dad is a man of few words and it meant the world to me. This song took right back to that moment and I think of all the young ladies/young men who need to hear that and might not have a dad to say it to them. This song will now give them that conversation. So glad it was released.

6. “Sierra”

I LOVE this track. I love everything about it. I love the sass, the playfulness, the polite way it tells Sierra to “duck off” (stupid auto correct). :D I hope there’s a Sierra out there who knows this song is about them, and if there isn’t I don’t want to know. Everyone has a Sierra in their lives and when you listen to this song you dream of saying these things to your Sierra and hope she hears it and knows it about her. This is just a brilliant track in the writing, the delivery of it, and the message behind it. BRAVO!

7. “Your Side of Town”

This is another fast catchy song that stays with you for a while after you listen to it. It’s another song about broken love, but the way they do it is refreshing. It’s not a young girl waiting for her man to come back and break her heart again, it’s not a young lady saying oh woe is me he’s gone, or even a lady saying how she can fix him. It's a young lady saying you had your chance now get away from me and stay there. It makes me think of Reba McEntire or Martina McBride. Try to listen to it without tapping your foot or nodding your head … I dare you.

8. “Right Here, Right Now”    *new track

As much as I love their fast catchy songs, when they slow it down and rock a track with soulful lyrics this Duo is even better. They blend perfectly on this track and know what they want and how to ask for it. It’s sultry without being slutty and I love that. In a world where artist now a days feel they have to be sexy or frankly naked on a stage to get attention it’s nice to hear a track from two very attractive young ladies who show us that a girl can be both sexy and not slutty. Well played Maddie and Tae.

9. “No Place Like You”    *new track

I love the banjo in this track, it moves the track forward and you can almost picture them moving through the day. Again it’s a track about a young lady who is following her dream but remembering what’s at home waiting on her and able to have both. This reminded me of Bryan Whites Every Where I Turn and I love any track that makes me think of Bryan White.

10. “After the Storm Blows Through”    *new track

When I heard this song today, for the first time, while at work, I started crying. I don’t know if it’s the anniversary of Katrina and all of that being on the news, but I was transported back to that moment when a friend calls to say they have lost everything and not having a clue how to respond to it. This song could literally be about anything, from a personal struggle, or health problems, basically it’s saying whatever you have to face I’m there with you let’s go do this. This one reminded me of Carrie Underwood, which is a huge compliment for these ladies. I have yet to get through this track without tearing up and hope I never do. As well as they do fun catchy Country, these ladies do soulful better than anyone I’ve ever heard and they are only 20 .... think about that for a second. Simply amazing. If you get no other track get this one, and then you’ll go back for the others.

11. “Downside of Growing Up”    *new track

This song perfectly sums up growing up, from moving away for the first time to dealing with life’s drama on your own, and coming out of it with lessons learned. This one is a lot like Fly and has a similar feel but more upbeat. I can see this track being the “class song” of 2015 if it gets released as a single and I really think that it should. It's another track where I can see the video in my head as I listen. It’s the perfect transitioning from this moment to the next moment song.

So that’s the album in a nutshell. I know I gushed over a few of these tracks and maybe fan girled a little bit more than I meant to but when I tell you this is the first album in a while I was really excited about that means something. It’s an album the world needs it’s an album that deserves some love and I hope the Country community continues to embrace these ladies cause I think Country Music, or Music in general needs role models like Maddie and Tae if only so that things like Tomatogate don’t happen again.

Check out the album and if you download Smoke, Fly, After the Storm Blows Through, and Downside of Growing up, I swear you’ll go back for the rest.

Follow these ladies on Twitter and get to know them they will be here for a while. 

@MaddieandTae

-Marcy