The first I heard of Maisie Peters was a recent segment on television about her supporting Ed Sheeran. The 23-year-old signed with Atlantic after releasing two singles independently and released two EPs under Atlantic and the soundtrack for a British comedy series titled “Trying” for its second series.
In 2021, she left Atlantic and joined Ed Sheeran’s Gingerbread Man Records. This album is a joint venture with Gingerbread Man and Asylum. Her debut record was released Gingerbread Man titled “You Signed up for This”. Despite it not hitting the top spot, Ed has taken her on the road (As mentioned in the paragraph), so she is getting more exposure, and no doubt touring with Ed on his “Mathematics” tour has seen her sophomore album reach the acme.
I listened to “the Good Witch’ via her YouTube, and I thoroughly recommend watching the lyric videos to the tracks. The lyrics are displayed on what appears to me as tarot-like cards. And fuck me; the lyrics are fucking mind-blowing. She is a phenomenal songwriter. I wonder how someone who didn’t grow up in a town or city can write so much.
From the title track, I was immediately hooked by the absolute brilliance in her songwriting. How one talks about their rollercoaster emotions and keeps it interesting is mind-blowing. Aside from its lyrical brilliance, ‘Coming of Age’ is a three-minute pop song with panache and sets the tone for the rest of the record.
‘Watch’ is good regarding Maisie’s delivery, where she goes from melancholic to pure rage. ‘You’re Just a Boy (And I’m Kinda the Man) rips to shreds an ex, and she mocks him for good measure by professing she was “the man” in the relationship over a Katy Perry-esque dream-pop beat. Think Katy’s ‘Last Friday Night (TGIF)’. ‘Run’ is a mild drum n bass track, albeit under three minutes. I hope Hedex gets hold of it and adds a banging remix. ‘BSC’ stands for Bat Shit Crazy, and when you listen to the lyrics, it is hard not to laugh at the humour displayed by her, yet with a sincere delivery. I haven’t mentioned ‘the Band and I’ yet, which features early on in the record. Wow, oh, fucking wow. Amazing track with Ke$ha-like vocals where she tells in great detail about life on the road.
‘Two Weeks Ago’ is slightly confusing when you hear the chorus because instead of explaining her current mood, she declares, “God, I wish it was two weeks ago’. Her hooks on the album are extremely catchy, and the echoed lines will certainly be sung back at her on tour. The record ends with ‘There it Goes’, which is about letting go of love that is covered in snow. By this, she means that their love is cold and doomed to fail. I thoroughly enjoyed this record, which moves from dream-pop to ballad, to dance, to drum n bass, where she discusses relationships and breakups bluntly with the occasional sarcasm and humour. The album is also radio-friendly, with no one track over four minutes. It may be a short listen, but it works.
Song recommendations: ‘Run’, ‘the Band and I’, ‘You’re Just a Boy (And I’m Kinda the Man)’
I have never been a fan of the Bee Gees,and I didn’t care much about their soundtrack for the 70’s film Saturday Night Fever. However, I have always held Barry Gibb in high regard; he is a genuinely fantastic songwriter, even if the music may not be to everyone’s liking. Barry has always been a massive fan of country, and I am not in the least bit surprised he has written for such icons in that genre as Dolly Parton and the late Kenny Rogers. This album is for Barry and what he likes. It is predominantly country with some soul chucked in with various guests renowned in the music industry.
Now, I know I said I don’t like the Bee Gees. Still, Barry, flanked by producer Dave Cobb, has given the back catalogueby the band that featured his late brothers a lease of new life with the songs reimagined. You might forget what the songs are like in their original guise because they are suited wholly to country. Barryreturns to the music that inspired him when he lived in England and Australia, respectively. He has delved into country, bluegrass, blues, skiffle and added some soul tracks to the mix.
You have Brandi Carlile bringing a more aggressive approach to “Run to Me” (One of my standouts on the record.).Then Jason Isbell (Another artist and guitarist I highly respect along with his wife Amanda Shires.) brings an almost church-likepresence to “Words of a Fool”, but Barry’s distinctive falsetto vocals still rise above all else on the album. Ofcourse, you have Dolly Parton, Keith Urban, and other icons on the record, but another track that catches your ear is“How Can You Mend a Broken Heart” featuring Sheryl Crow (I can’t help but feel Al Green was overlooked for this. He has donea stunning rendition of the song.).
Yes, it is a Barry Gibb album with him having the majority of the spotlight; however, it isn’t always that way, and in some tracks, I have highlighted in the paragraph as mentioned above, Barry lets Brandi and Jason take over with their vocals on those individual tracks, and blends in like he was an instrument overDave’s lavish production. Even afterall these years of sharing vocals with his late brothers Robin and Maurice in the Bee Gees, Barry still is very democraticwith vocal performances, even though this is his record.
Song recommendations: “Run to Me”, “Words of a Fool”, “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart”
What can you say about this man? An ex-member of one the greatest bands of all time who has inspired a generation of musicians and bands to break through from Cast to Oasis and even bands to date. Paul is a self-taught musician on pretty much any instrument he picks up. It started as a child when he wanted to play the piano, which his grandad was very fond of, but Paul’s father refused to teach him, saying he would benefit more from learning to teach himself. From there, the rest is history, and Paul, since learning to play by ear, has gone on to be one of the most decorated musicians and songwriters the world has ever seen. He can write a song as if rain was falling from the sky in his native Liverpool (Like any place in England, you will understand what I mean by this.) and is called a genius by his peers even though he openly admits he despises the tag and modesty says “I’m not a genius, I’m just a bloke who writes music.”.
Here is my track-by-track review of his latest album:
Long Tailed Winter Bird:
This is more like one of those throwaway tracks or a track that was added just as filler. There are no lyrics to this song, and the instrumental started as a track for a film upon which Paul made longer and opted to use for the current album. According to Paul, the name was taken from a book he owns about birds.
Find My Way:
Composed initially while listening to the radio in the car, Paul then took his idea into the studio. He still decided to keep the piano but changed the verses to something that worked better.
Pretty Boys:
The story is about male models whom the paparazzi harass, and Paul said upon walking in New York that he saw a line of hire bicycles and came up with the concept that the models were for hire.
Women and Wives:
This blues number on the piano was born after Paul read a book on Lead Belly. He then sat down by the piano with a few simple chords that would fit around blues vocals. From there, he flew back to England to head to the studio and record it.
Lavatory Lil:
This song is about someone you don’t like, probably even hate, and creates a sphere where you exaggerate what they are like based upon your perceptions of them. I imagine Paul did have people in mind but opted for a nameless character to avoid being caught up in a legal battle.
Deep Deep Falling:
It was the longest track on the record at over eight minutes. The track was originally going to be trimmed, but Paul liked the track that started as a jam session, which later the lyrics and vocals were added to so much, he wanted to keep it that long.
Slidin:
Again, this is another track that started life as a jam. This time, during a soundcheck while on the European leg of a tour in Germany. Originally, it was to be used for his 2018 album “Egypt Station” as he liked the riff, but it didn’t work and was therefore half-baked. He returned to it for this record’s studio sessions and added lyrics while chopping and changing several other things but keeping the guitar riff. The title is from Paul watching the Winter Olympics and the commentator saying the term “Sliding” when the sports in question were done on the piste.
the Kiss of Venus:
A psychedelic song inspired by a book Paul was given about Earth, Mars, Venus, and the moon, where the phrase, which later became the title of the song, kept jumping out at him.
Seize the Day:
Another track was created on the piano, and Paul improvised. He built the rest of the song upon some lyrics about Eskimos and ice. From there, he added about the cold days in the chorus and then turned this extremely eccentric song into about enjoying today rather than letting the cold days drag us down.
Deep Down:
Another track evolved from a jam session, and from there, he built around it by improvisation. There needed to be a solid concept in place to write a song from it.
Winter Bird/When Winter Comes:
This track surprises you because it sounds like a continuation of the opening track but then evolves into something else with vocals, drums, bass, and guitar.
Song recommendations: “Deep Deep Falling”, “Slidin”, “Seize the Day”.
Here is my track-by-track review of her 9th studio album and her second album release of the current year:
Willow:
This isn’t just the opening track of the album, but it is also the leading single. This is Taylor returning to her roots when she was gigging constantly across America to get herself noticed within the industry by basing herself on country music. It’s a bizarre choice as a single, as it hasn’t any of those typical pop traits to chart that high. It is pure country with its delicately plucked acoustic guitar. Her vocal delivery synchronises with the subject of being in love with someone, and you’re trying to make them feel the same way. Taylor expresses this by how we would feel in those moments. From feeling high and excited to feeling low and being unable to breathe from the panic that they don’t love you. There are also some deep lyrics within, so listen carefully.
Champagne Problems:
This piano ballad was written with her boyfriend, who uses the alias William Bowery (Of course, his real name is Joe Alwyn.). Is the subject matter supposed to be about their current relationship? Rather than about a couple in college who share very different views about a night where one wants to break up and the other wants to propose. I don’t know how happy they are, but I can’t see them dropping hints while writing a song together. I also learned that “Champagne Problems” is a phrase (I guess only in America.) that means when an individual’s troubles are genuine but, when put into perspective, are less important than how much others are suffering. Like with “Folklore”, Taylor touches on the very fragile subject of mental health. In this song, the female character mentions her problems with mental health and how the break up of her relationship has further impacted it. I am going to quote some compelling lyrics taken from the male character in this, as he is the one who has been left heartbroken. “Sometimes you just don’t know the answer til someone’s on their knees and asks you; she would have made such a lovely bride, what a shame she’s fucked in the head, they said, but you’ll find the real thing instead”. As you can see, the song is very emotional.
Gold Rush:
Wasn’t this also a song on “Folklore”? I can’t remember, but someone will tell me when they visit my archives this year. Bizarrely, the producer of this track only features once on the record when you consider Jack Antonoff has produced half of her songs over the past three albums. This song is more chart-friendly compared to the previous tracks on the record. This time, the leading character starts falling for someone popular among several others. Unfortunately for the leading female character, the other women chases the man in question. Still, just like the leading female, they are also looking for gold in California, which, when you think about it, makes the title make sense. The leading character becomes jealous and longing to have him, and she decides she can no longer chase him because she has no fight left in her and feels it is futile. Again, some lyrics stood out for me, and they are intense by the lead character. “At dinner parties, I call you out on your contrarian shit, and the coastal town we wandered round had never seen a love as pure as it, and then it fades into the grey of my day-old tea, cause it could never be”.
Tis the Damn Season:
What I found about Taylor’s songwriting is she can tell fables about fictional characters based on actual events or fables about her own life experiences. It is challenging to do the former, as you must design the characters and build the fable around them, but Taylor does this effortlessly. Once again, on this album, she has devised a character from Tupelo, Mississippi, who is leaving her town to achieve her dreams in Hollywood on the big screen. You may be wondering where the Christmas element comes into it. The lead character returns home to enjoy the festivities, where she stumbles across an ex-lover. As one of the lyrics depicts over this electric guitar track, she says how she is breaking her own heart by returning to Los Angeles, where everyone she meets is superficial, including the way she smiles, rather than remaining in Tupelo to get back with her ex-lover and feel loved and happy once more.
Tolerate it:
There appears to be a trend with Taylor and the obsession with the fifth track; the fifth track always seems to be a ballad with a heart-wrenching confession. “Evermore” doesn’t buck the trend. Again, the song is seen from the female perspective. She is sick and tired of devoting her life to her lover, and she is not getting much compassion or any form of emotional connection in return, so she is starting to hate and resent him for that. She has tolerated this behaviour for far too long from him, and now she is ready to confront him. This track perfectly depicts when love fades away from one perspective and turns sour from the other.
No Body, No Crime:
HAIM features on this, but it is based more on the country music scene, from what I recall, rather than the usual rock-based music from HAIM. As you can tell from the title, Taylor, with HAIM doing backing vocals, has gone for a topic about committing a murder. However, it is a double homicide told from different perspectives. The first verse is the narrator’s friend bringing up in a conversation that she thinks her husband is seeing another woman; in the second verse, her friend disappears, and the narrator is sure that the husband killed her and to avenge her friend’s death in the third verse, she kills the husband, but by doing this she compromises the case. Again, this is another powerful fable told by Taylor on this record.
Happiness:
The calibre of this song is quite astonishing when you consider it was the last one to be written in just under a week before the album was due to be released. Most might panic and therefore not put much effort into the last song they are writing just in case they miss the deadline by taking too long, but Taylor has managed to create a good song under that pressure and have it all done and ready to be included on the album. The story is both one of despair and optimism. The individual is going through the agony and six degrees of separation phase of splitting up with their lover, but they show signs of optimism, knowing that happiness will return once this phase has passed. The production complements the lyrics with its slow tempo and melancholic tone. Is the individual Taylor? It shows a mature approach to handling a breakup compared to her as a teenager, where she attacked every ex with venom over wax. If the character is indeed Taylor, then she has shown that as she has got older, she can move on and enjoy the next one to enter her life.
Dorothea:
Remember the track “Tis the Damn Season” earlier on and the unknown female? Well, this is her name and the continuation of the story. However, this is not told from Dorothea’s perspective but by her ex-lover. He was devastated when she moved to Hollywood and longed to be with her. He also ponders, now she is in L.A. chasing her dreams, whether she pauses to think about him. Although the subject is deep and emotional, the song has a relatively upbeat tempo.
Coney Island:
Now, I expected HAIM to feature, but the National? I wasn’t expecting that. Nor was I expecting a duet between Taylor Swift and Matt Berninger. However, I discovered that the National’s Aaron Dressner produces most of the tracks on this album, so it makes sense for Taylor to collaborate either by request or suggested by Aaron. The subject matter is once again that of broken love. This time, it is about a couple reminiscing on the relationship and how it fell apart because the levels of commitment were not balanced. The song also appears to be the couple trying to work out what went wrong and trying to see if they can try again. Taylor’s melodic vocals complement Matt’s customary raspy yet deep vocals.
Ivy:
The banjo is the main instrument this time. It features the first of two collaborations with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver (Later on, the entire band feature.) over a story about a wife committing adultery and subsequently falling in love with her secret lover. Even though she continues the affair as she enjoys the attention, she is trying to stay faithful simultaneously. It is similar to the story in “illicit Affairs” from the previous album and is also freakishly the tenth track.
Cowboy Like Me:
Another song inspired by her roots in country, the story is that of gold diggers who, instead of chasing those with wealth, end up falling for each other. Marcus Mumford from Mumford and Sons provides backing vocals. The song is also typical of a song likely to be composed by Mumford and Sons with guitars, mandolins, harmonicas, and anything from country music you can think of.
Long Story Short:
From an album steeped in country, this track departs from that with its catchy pop chorus, drums, and guitars out of indie rock. You can see this being on her albums before her current two. Taylor goes after the media and the misogynists who tried to ruin her career a couple of years ago (See my first review on the album where she goes fucking ballistic on those people for the whole story.). However, rather than getting herself worked up, Taylor’s vocals are balanced and calm. Even the lyrics are about not sweating the small stuff. She displays happiness knowing she is content in her relationship and that she is way past all this petty bullshit from her enemies. She writes lyrics to her past self to let these things slide and let her enemies defeat themselves by being starved of her attention and reaction. Taylor has shown a lot of maturity so far on the record.
Marjorie:
I am starting to wonder if “Evermore” is the continuation of “Folklore” with the topics, sound, and production. It seems like it is. Still, it doesn’t bother me a jot because I prefer Taylor when writing music in the genre her heart belongs to. Pop was to get a wider audience, but country is where her heart is. Also, there is another reason this is a continuation, and it is related to the thirteenth track of the respective albums. “Folklore” was an ode to her grandfather, who fought in World War II, and “Evermore” focuses on her grandmother, Marjorie Finlay, an opera singer whom Taylor didn’t appreciate until she passed away when Taylor was just a teenager. Taylor regrets this and wishes she could go back and fix this with her grandmother. It is also a grand, haunting gesture, that Taylor used her late grandmother’s vocals for the backing track. Sends chills down your spine.
Closure:
Many of us can relate to the topic here. I’m sure we have all been in a relationship where it ended badly, and we wanted to explain ourselves later on after the dust had settled as to why, but our ex simply refuses the closure and doesn’t want to know. This song describes that. In this case, it’s a male looking for closure from the female, but she has moved on and doesn’t find it necessary to explain it, rather than doing something to avenge the hurt he caused. The lyrics mention that he wants to remain friends after the closure and that he’s angry she won’t hear him out.
Evermore:
The closing and my favourite track. Sorry, but it’s got Bon Iver on it. What more is there to say? Justin Vernon and the rest of the band produce good music. I love this piano-based song with Taylor and Justin doing a cypher and harmonising together, which touches on depression with a mix of dark and optimism to end the album. The highlight is the cypher for me; it is scarce to see vocalists go bar-for-bar like they were rapping or sharing a poem.
Song recommendations: “Evermore”, “Coney Island”, “Long Story Short”.
Whatever you may think about the chief songwriter and band member in Take That, he knows how to write a fucking song. As far as I am aware, he’s also bizarrely a Liverpool fan from Manchester, which is quite a rarity. Although his solo career didn’t go too well after the break up of Take That (They reformed in 2005 and are still going strong to date.), he was still very successful behind the scenes, writing songs for various artists and some of the songs he wrote for them might surprise you because you thought he was the forgotten man. So, is this Gary’s second solo album? It’s called “Music Played by Humans”, released almost two decades after his debut.
“Who’s Driving This Thing?” opens the record, and Gary can be heard introducing the album to the band in the studio and sharing laughs and jokes with them. It sets the mood for the whole record, which is very big band and swing. I’m not sure if he writes for Michael Buble (Who, funnily enough, does feature.), but the delivery is very much the same as how Michael would do it.
“The Big Bass Drum” is one of the essential tracks on the album, and Gary selflessly lets the musicians and the band take the limelight and blends in by accompanying them. For once, he hasn’t taken centre stage.
Again, Gary shows his abilities as a songwriter by switching moods and subjects. In “This Is My Time”, he talks about dying from love. “Enough is Enough” featuring Beverley Knight might prove his ability to write songs on any subject, but this track is not as melancholic as the title suggests. Now, the next track I thought I would want to skip and hate with a passion is “the Kind of Friend I Need”. Why? Because James Corden is on it, but he can sing, and it works. You can hear them ribbing each other between their verses, and as the album closes, James proclaims that he’s the best singer on the track. Gary replies, “It’s my album, you know?” I found the whole track lighthearted and funny. If you like big band and swing, this album is for you. I also was surprised to find out this from Gary. This kind of record should be played at restaurants or lounge bars. Very easy on the ear, funny, and guaranteed to make you feel upbeat.
NB: I later discovered that this is (Incredibly.) It’s Gary’s fifth solo studio album.
Song recommendations: “the Kind of Friend I Need”, “the Big Bass Drum”, “This is My Time”
The opening track is about a perfect scenario if someone from her past relationships survived the course and lived happily ever after, rather than the usual song about her pain of breaking up with someone, which most of Taylor’s songs have been the subject of. Once again, Taylor doesn’t hold back on her language; from that, you can tell that what’s in store for the rest of the record is pure honesty.
Cardigan:
This track was released as the album teaser, and the obligatory video was subsequently released on the same day as this album. This song is about Taylor about being done wrong in a past relationship by being cheated on. I say that because it is done from a first-person perspective, and I imagine that Taylor is talking about it and how she has learned from it and can now sense the signs to get out before getting extremely hurt. The vocals reflect the maturity of the topic, and she is not being overly aggressive or even shouting her vocals. When talking about such a subject, that shows great restraint.
the Last Great American Dynasty:
Wow, this is a highly controversial subject to touch on. Living in England, I cannot say how much this would piss off the American folk because it is just a touchy subject for me, but it wouldn’t rattle anyone in England and Europe when she is digging up the past. For Americans, this is very controversial. The subject of the song is the Rebekah and Bill Harkness scandal. Rebekah is a middle-class mid-western, and Bill is the heir to the Standard Oil fortune. Why is it controversial? Because their marriage caused an uproar 70-odd years ago. Another reason why Taylor wrote this is because she happens to live in their mansion in Rhode Island. This is her finest songwriting to date. It combines the story of the scandal, yet she manages to draw comparisons to her own life.
Exile:
The album’s first feature is a duet with Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, where they both have various views on a breakup. The vocals fall in synchronisation with the piano.
My Tears Ricochet:
If you thought “the Last Great American Dynasty” was controversial, this is more controversial. Taylor doesn’t hold back as she takes a swing at the fucking idiots who somehow managed to stop her from regaining the rights to her masters for her first six albums (I believe one of the arseholes involved is Scooter Braun, as I saw it unfold on social media at the time?). It is a pretty sad song as Taylor is in her coffin, and I imagine Scooter turns up at her wake. This appears to be a metaphor that your enemies will destroy you and still dare to attend your funeral/wake to mock you even after death. I commend her for shining a light on the subject of how you can get fucked over in the industry and lose the rights to what is rightfully yours.
Mirrorball:
One of Taylor’s favourite subjects to touch on is her love and hate-affair with the fame she has amassed through her talent and the attention, whether wanted or unwanted, that unfortunately comes with the music and songwriting. However, this is the first time that she has spoken so candidly about that affair. She talks about how she wants to please people and adapt to their wants and needs from her.
Seven:
How ironic that the seventh track should be aptly titled “Seven”? The subject of this Folkstyle song is about a friend trying to protect her best friend who is deeply traumatised desperately. The lyrics suggest that the best friend lives in an unhappy home where her father constantly shouts at her. The friend trying to help her mentions playing pirates at her house to escape the brutal reality of her home life.
August:
As we approach the halfway stage of the album, we hear part two of where “Cardigan” left off. This time, from the perspective of the “mistress”, over a faster melody and vocals full of optimism.
This is Me Trying:
This is Taylor baring her soul by revealing how she is only human with her mistakes, doubts, trust issues, and failures.
Illicit Affairs:
It is nice to see a song on this record wrapped around a guitar with its witty lyrics and emotional feelings.
Invisible String:
Taylor is known for writing songs about her exes, but this track shows her devotion to her boyfriend, Joe. It is quite biographical and mentions how fate played a part in bringing them together.
Mad Woman:
The fable to this song is about a widow who was made an outcast in her town and took revenge on it, but there is a deeper, more personal meaning by Taylor here. Taylor is charming here by not going directly to the issue she addresses. This song is hidden within a metaphor, but through the raw emotion in her vocals, you know that she is extremely pissed off with what the real issue is at hand here. This track seems aimed at all the misogynists who have made her life hell.
Epiphany:
This track is split into three subjects. Verse one is about her granddad’s post-traumatic stress disorder he suffered while serving in the US Army in World War II. Verse two is about those in the medical profession currently dealing with the pandemic, which has made their jobs both a risk and a living hell, and the chorus fuses both of these subjects and portrays her granddad and the medical professionals as American heroes. My only issue with this powerful song is it might lose its meaning with the production, which was Taylor opting for a Hymn.
Betty:
This track is done from the perspective of a male named James, where he takes a feminist view and says the man brought it all upon himself for cheating even though he is now feeling guilty and heartbroken that the woman in the subject of the song has moved on and found someone better. What’s more refreshing about this is that James takes the feminist view rather than confiding in another male.
Peace:
This song is dedicated to Joe, but Taylor asks if she will ever be enough for anyone when you consider her lifestyle and all the attention that comes with it. The sincerity in her vocals shows she is extremely passionate about the topic.
Hoax:
Seeing an album end on such a dark and sour song is very unusual. This track explores the impact of a toxic relationship but with reflection rather than anger. It’s a beautifully emotional song.
Song recommendations: “My Tears Ricochet”, “the Last Great American Dynasty”, “Hoax”.
Honest Opinions 