Album Of The Week: Maddy Jane's Debut Record Is Authentic & Full Of Indie Rock Magic

As its cover art suggests, the debut album from Tassie singer-songwriter Maddy Jane covers both the lighter and darker sides of her personal life. Not All Bad Or Good is unique, authentic and full of indie rock magic.

What we're saying...

★★★★

Review by Keira Leonard. Read more here...

“A part of Maddy Jane’s charm comes from her ability to share her brooding honesty alongside a generous serve of cheek. Crazy Jane Talks To The Bishop, for example, is an intimate, gloomy tale of detachment, containing some of her most poignant verses. Yet, in its final seconds, becomes unexpectedly playful. That broken but bad-ass attitude shines throughout the album’s entirety, providing endless spunk and excitement. 

“Femme is a witty, blatant plead for equality, showing a newfound maturity in Jane’s songwriting. The Other Day is your classic cya later song, full of sass and catchy riffs. The album’s closer Always Saying What They All Can’t Say hits differently though. It's a solemn track about the fragility of a broken family and that traditional Maddy Jane attitude completely and appropriately vanishes in this case.”

What they're saying...

“[An album] is something I wasn’t even sure I could do,” Jane told The Music.

“To actually have it out for people, at this point is hard to comprehend! I am proud of every song on this album, and for me, this means so much, but right now the main thing is that I know that this is proof to myself that I am creating music that I’m meant to.

“This feels authentic, like I’m really letting you in now. I’m so stoked to have not just a debut album out, but one that I’m confident is good shit!”

On writing and recording the album, Jane said: “I am quite private with my writing, it’s not until I feel like a song is pretty much finished in my mind to the extent I want it to, before I even work it out with the rest of the band. I think that comes from me wanting a clear idea of what it is before I involve others.

“We were able to lock ourselves in [Grove Studios] and get stuff done. There were no distractions and when you did have a break, you were surrounded by Aussie bush. I addressed a lot of personal things on this album, as much as it has light, it has dark too.”

And as for what she hopes fans will take away from the record?

“It’s like I’m getting a lot off my chest or something and once it’s out, it’s no longer about me,” she said.

“It’s about what people take from it. I just hope it’s relatable and real. The only thing you can hope for is that it helps someone, or makes at least one person feel something, that is their own personal experience with that music; or makes someone feel understood.

“I hope it empowers, or maybe it could be that it gets you pumped for when the world opens up again and we can be together and see to live gigs.”

Listen to Not All Bad Or Good in full below!