Maddie & Tae: Through The Madness Vol. 1 Review

Maddie & Tae are back with their third studio album, “Through The Madness, Vol.1”. Best known for smart, well-written hits such as “Die From A Broken Heart” and the “Girl in a Country Song”, Maddie & Tae are one of the more popular duos in country music.

The previously mentioned tracks both went platinum for the duo in 2015 and 2020 respectively. “Through The Madness, Vol. 1” serves as a followup to their 2020 album, “The Way It Feels”. “Through The Madness, Vol. 1” was released on Jan. 28, 2022.

As I mentioned in the introduction, their two biggest hits are extremely clever songs. “Die From A Broken Heart” is framed as a late-night call to a mom about a breakup. “Girl in a Country Song” is a tongue-in-cheek song about how women are objectified in many “bro-country” songs (a subgenre of country known for lyrics celebrating themes such as drinking, women, and pickup trucks). These songs were prominent on country radio when the song debuted.

I went into my listening of “Through The Madness, Vol.1” expecting nothing less than good songwriting and harmonies from Maddison and Taylor. I was satisfied and quite surprised. The album, while starting a bit slow, really finds its footing in the second half. Once again, their songwriting is a strength on the record. Tracks such as “The Other Side”, “Wish You The Best”, and “Strangers” are standouts on the “Through The Madness, Vol.1”.

“The Other Side” is the best song on the record by quite a wide margin. Lori McKenna, who appeared on my last review of Walker Hayes’ new album, is simply a lyrical genius. Everything this woman touches turns to gold. “The Other Side'' was written by McKenna as well as Maddie & Tae. This is a beautiful song full of idioms such as “There’s strength in the weakness”, “Every broke down heart knows how to shine”, and “There’s wisdom in the waiting”. It reminds me of Eric Church’s 2019 hit, “Some Of It” and Kip Moore’s 2020 song, “Wild World”, both are songs full of idioms that connect.

“Wish You The Best” is another song that taps into the duo’s humor. I truly think Maddie & Tae are at their best when they’re leaning into their witty songwriting capabilities. Whether it is this or the aforementioned “Girl in a Country Song”, the duo is great at writing humorous lyrics. This song is a great spin on the concept of wishing an ex the best. However, they spin the lyric with the ending line, “I'd wish you the best, but you've already had it.”.

“Woman You Got” is a super fun listen, feeling like it was pulled straight from the late nineties. It feels like it would fit perfectly on a Shania Twain or Jo Dee Messina album. The chorus compels you to sing along to the duo’s great harmonies. The steel guitar in the background is just the icing on the cake for this fun track.

However, there were some let-downs on this album. I’d say the opening track, “What It’s Like Loving You” and the pseudo title-track, “Madness” are the most forgettable of the eight songs on the album. “Madness”, in particular, is the most lackluster to me. The writing felt fairly shallow compared to the other songs present.

“Don’t Make Her Look Dumb” featuring Morgane Stapelton (wife of country superstar Chris Stapelton) was also a bit disappointing to me. I had high expectations given how great Morgane sounds with Chris. However, this song was simply okay. Not bad by any means, just a bit boring.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with “Through The Madness, Vol.1”. Though the album took a few songs for me to fully get into, it has really grown on me after consecutive listens. I really enjoyed the second-half of the album; it finished extremely well with the final three songs. The production is very solid, feeling fairly modern while also having nice touches of traditional elements such as steel guitar on “The Other Side” and “Woman You Got”.

It’s a very easy listen, coming in at eight tracks and only 27 minutes. I’d recommend giving “Through The Madness, Vol.1” a listen if you’re a fan of modern country; there are some great songwriting moments and harmonies throughout the LP.

7/10