Madeline is a solo female artist from Bloomington, Indiana, and is most definitely a step away from the normal material released by Plan-It-X. The sixteen songs on here come off as a cross between the Softies, Kimya Dawson, and the Carter Family. It’s not surprising to learn that Madeline’s roots are in the South (Athens, Georgia, to be exact) and it definitely comes across on this album. Many songs are just her and her guitar, but various percussion, some backing vocals (which is where the Softies reference comes in to play), and the occasional full band fill out the tunes to not make them feel so lonely. There are some heartfelt, honest ideas on this album and the breadth of the songs range from slow and sad to upbeat and happy. Some of the tunes are really quite beautiful and only a few rank as trying on one’s patience. Fans of female singer/songwriters (especially those influenced by K Records and Athens, Georgia) should be happy to hear Madeline’s debut. With sixteen tracks pushing fifty minutes of music, there’s definitely an overwhelming amount of positives here and a lot for Madeline to use to build upon.
–kurt (Plan-It-X)