Album Metacritic

Adele has finally released her fourth studio album, her first album in many years, she is known for her lengthy breaks between musical eras and I am significantly pleased with this project. In the past, I have always been highly critical of the Chasing Pavements singer and especially on her albums. Despite Adele's great talents as a vocalist, her albums have always lacked versatility and range. Adele always played it safe with her sounds and has been in dire need of some form of experimentation. Fortunately, "30" showcases that the Someone Like You singer was eager to experiment and advance her discography to new horizons. In the almost 7 minutes of "My Little Love", there is a very sentimental addition to the production, the singer is heard having a conversation with her son, the song is substantially reflective and even though Adele is known to be expressive, this style of production is relatively new to her and she executed it excellently. Her powerful vocals and seamless lyrics enhance the beauty of this track and cement it as one of the best songs of her career, a catalog highlight, and one of the best of the year. Another lengthy song on this album was "I Drink Wine", this song has a piano-driven production with additions of various instruments in the background, Adele's strength is her soulful voice and this song allows her to belt and soar effortlessly, one can feel every emotion from her vocal performance on this track. Despite not being the most experimental song, she definitely has elevated this typical sound and made it into something spectacular and passionate, I can also see this song being used in a soundtrack of a really sad romantic movie because it fits perfectly. "All Night Parking" featuring Errol Garner displays the singer's aim of trying new styles of music. This Sade-inspired track is jazzy and you can envision yourself at a jazz lounge, drinking wine, chatting with your comrades, and vibing to this type of music, it also has hints of Rhythm and Blues, these two styles were skillfully blended and created magnificence. The instrumental interludes on the album add a euphoric and much-needed pause from the lengthy tracks and allow the listeners to prepare themselves for the next song and it closes the album effectively. The choir heavy "Oh My God" is another key highlight of this album sonically. This song's title has a clever double meaning to the actual context of the song and the inclusion of the spiritual elements undoubtedly assists this song in being in the holy trinity of this album. My only issue with this album is that some songs like "Hold On" and "To Be Loved" were unnecessarily long and could have been omitted from the full track list as they did not leave a substantial impact on me, sometimes less is more. Regardless, Adele has definitely stepped up from her last lazy efforts and has produced her most experimental and innovative record to date.

"She’s back, though pop superstar Adele needs no introduction to the world of music. To call Adele a simple hitmaker is an understatement as she has created some of the biggest and most memorable songs of the last decade. True to tradition in Adele’s career is the big ballad lead single going #1. This was most definitely the case with I Don’t Think About You. A power ballad that shot to the top of the Hot 100. After that taste of the music that was to come, Adele returned from her now traditional long absence with another collection of tear jerkers that and a few surprises that both hit and miss the mark. The album starts off with the song, Strangers By Nature. The song begins with the line “I'll be taking flowers to the cemetery of my heart”. This, alone with the haunting instrumental and ghost-like backing vocals prepares the listener for rest of album. After that intro, the next five tracks show what Adele is truly made of. I Don’t Think About You and Easy On Me, while no different from the lyrical content Adele is known for, are amplified by her strong vocal presence. My Little Love is a six minute ballad in which Adele shares private conversations she had with her son and herself. She does this while being vulnerable with her son, implying that she has a lot to learn. Oh My God, which is the second single from the album, is a beauty of a song with lyrics of being your own woman and putting yourself first. The lyrics plus Adele’s vocal performance makes this a standout track on the album. Sadly, Can I Get It and Didn’t I are some of the weaker songs on the album. Honestly, no amount of vocal acrobatics can save them. The album does pick around I Drink Wine. And continues along that path. Another stand out song is the powerful and emotionally devastating song “To Be Loved”. Though the instrumental is simple piano, the lyrics paired with Adele’s vocal delivery makes this a stand track, not only on the album but in her entire discography. The penultimate track, “Love Is Game” along with the final track, “Endless Journey” are a fitting end to the album. Though the album has a few hiccups which hurt the overall cohesiveness of the album, 30 is a great, and sometimes heart-wrenching album, that delivers some of Adele’s best material so far in her career.

Standouts: My Little Love, Oh My God, To Be Loved
Duds: Can I Get It, Didn’t I"

Adele makes her long awaited comeback with 30, a more jazz and 50s inspired album than her previous work, despite those being her influences back in 19. Known for her slow and mellow music, most of her work consisting of ballads she finally adventures more into more than just ballads and slow songs. It’s a bit more than just another 21 vol 3, even if the argument can be made to be grouped as such, though it reminisces more of 19. Does it earn its runtime?, no is what most people will say but depending on your mood the answer could vary.

“Strangers by Nature” starts off the album and sets the mood, the song sounds like it came out of a 40s melodrama or even Cinderella and nobody would bat an eye. A stylish track that starts off the album pretty well. 2nd track “I Don’t Think About You” which was the first single off the album comes in true Adele fashion as the power ballad that kicked the era, it’s a good song that encapsulates everything about the album albeit a bit safe.

“Easy On Me” is another power ballad that could cause whiplash given the song that comes before it has a completely different message though this one feels like the single that never was. A piano ballad that Adele knows all too well how to do. “My Little Love” is a duet with her son which is a very cute concept though is not perfectly executed and goes #relatable when it goes into the spoken part of it, the violin sounds great but the song could use a little less of the time it was given to get its point across.

Now the real treasure in the album is the “Cry Your Heart Out”, “Oh My God”, “Can I Get It” and “Didn’t I” run slapped in the middle of the album. In “Cry Your Heart Out” Adele finally mixes it up and delivers a song that we haven’t heard from her, the background vocals and the instrumentals along with her deliver what it feels like a classic sound that would have the main singer and the background singers behind her like an old school cartoon or jazz musicians back in the 60s. A breath of fresh air from Adele. “Oh My God” and “Can I Get It” are the radio friendly songs Adele puts on the album and while they’re classic Adele and Max Martin song they are both something that adds a bit of flavour to the album, the former feels like a 2nd single choice and it is one after all Adele just released it as such. And finally “Didn’t I” bass line is incredible and is one of the best deep cuts in her discography, her delivery is on point and the song maybe should’ve been the lead of this whole album despite it’s mood not fitting the theme she’s got going on with the rest of the tracks of the album.

“Titanic Rising” is one of the 3 instrumental interludes in the album, this one is just instrumental. It adds nothing to the album despite being an adventurous thing to do for Adele, it leads into another #relatable song for Adele, “I Drink Wine” feels like the quintessential Adele track, a piano, clean vocals and lyrics that everyone relates to, this one though is 6 minutes long. She pours her heart out and has a nice instrumental to go alongside her. “All Night Parking” is the 2nd interlude, the only one that has vocals alongside it. It stands out as a completely different song in the album, it's not about heartbreak and the instrumentals while very Adele are put to a great use here and they stand out in a good way, one of the better tracks in the second half of the album.

“Hold On” doesn’t earn its 6 minute runtime, a problem with the tracks that have that length. It picks up too late and when it does it takes a different route and never lands what it's trying to do.

“To Be Loved” is what could be called her best track. The only 6 minute track on the album that actually justifies being that long, a song where she justifies her divorce despite not having to do so. She explains how young she was and now has to face herself and the decisions she has made. “Picture Me Better” and “Love Is A Game” feel like complementary songs, the latter picks up where the former begins and create a nice run of tracks.

“Nearer to Thee” the final instrumental interlude closes the album though it feels unnecessary given how “Love Is a Game” ends, it also feels like it should be at the half of the album rather than at the end

Adele comes back with 30 which details her experience with divorce and the relationships involved, making it the most personal album in her career which is saying something for the person that put out 21 and 25, though neither of those explore the pain one can cause theior close ones and try to learn to love again. And while it feels pretty Adele she decides to break her usual formula a bit and delivers a better album than 25.

Adele’s fourth studio album 30 shows the artist at her most vulnerable and alive to her own feelings, but her ambitious take on expressing her guilt comes at a certain cost. Reuniting with Grammy-award winning producer Greg Kurstin, Adkins produces her most raw and personal album. One of the best displays of this vulnerability is on “My Little Love”, which features private snippets of Adele and her son Angelo as they adjust to the divorce. This shows a new side of Adele that fans haven’t seen yet and is borderline uncomfortable to listen to. “My Little Love” is a journey which sums up this record pretty well, tucked at the end is Adele’s version of rock bottom, a raw voice note where she admits that, for the first time in years, she feels really and truly lonely. Adele is at her strongest on this record on the grounding piano ballad “Easy On Me” which showcases the expressive singer’s second-to-none tone as well as her excellent songwriting. On this song, Adele asks for grace from herself, the lord, and her son Angelo. Adele’s guilt from the divorce yields the record’s best material on tracks like this. Another strong point on the record is the opener “Strangers by Nature”, richly produced by Kurstin. We hear Adele mourn her past relationships in a dramatic and camp manner, complied with Disney like strings and an excellent opening line (“I’ll be taking flowers to the cemetery of my heart”) Despite the depression, we hear the playful song “Cry Your Heart Out” where there are modulated Motown-style background vocals bouncing off Adele’s rich tone. Unfortunately, this record is at its lowest point when Adele is out of her comfort zone on tracks like “Can I Get It” and “Didn’t I”, with the latter being the worst song of her career. These two songs are incredibly out-of-place on this record and sound like something that would feature on a Ella Henderson album. Not only is the corny whistling and aged production out-of-place on the album, but it almost ruins the past few tracks. Thankfully the album gets back on course with “I Drink Wine”, one of the highlights on the album. This song features strong gospel undertones and vivid vocals.(“I hope I learn to get over myself,” ) she belts in the chorus, a hint of grit in her low notes. As we move into the final third of the record, we listen to some of the strongest work on the album including the incredible “To Be Loved”. The 6-minute ballad aims to show what happens when you willingly walk off the cliff and live to tell about it. “Picture Me Better” is another highlight featuring masterful songwriting, although the engineering does sound out-of-place compared to the rest of the tracks. Overall, 30 is Adele’s most vulnerable record and showcases her masterful vocal ability and songwriting, but the experimental moments on the record (“Can I Get It”, “Didn’t I”) fail to impress and almost diminishes the impact that a listener gets when listening to the stronger tracks.

Adele is perhaps one of the biggest pop stars our generation will ever see and naturally her comeback album after a 6 year hiatus was accompanied by a lot of hype and fanfare and while "30" might appeal to the casual listener simply in search for some playlist-fodder, more demanding listeners are sure to be disappointed.

On "30" Adele has seemingly exhausted all of her lyrical talents. Despite being billed as her most personal album to date, outside of a few personal details thrown into the mix it might as well have been written by a writing camp. Her early singer-songwriter days were already over on "25" but this album is for all those who still had any doubts. All the highlights of the album succeed purely due to Adele's vocal performances and the odd catchy melody. "I Drink Wine" and "Hold On" are prime examples. "To Be Loved" manages to be one of her most emotionally potent ballads of her career. Even if thematically it is just a retread of "Easy On Me", her raw and explosive vocals put it leagues above the latter track.

Every single track is produced by Greg Kurstin, which is certainly a strange choice as someone of Adele's stature could certainly have all the world's best producers at a snap of her fingers. Kurstin can certainly put together a good ballad or two but complex compositions have never been his strength and it's painfully obvious on this album. Adele's pitched up, multilayered vocals on "Cry Your Heart Out" are otitis-inducing, while "Oh My God" could be an Imagine Dragons reject. "My Little Love" sounds great in theory yet it ends up excruciatingly long, washed-out and soulless.

Strange is also the album's sequencing. Both interludes are unnecessary and the final one in particular devalues the catharsis on "Love Is A Game", even though when looking at the project as a whole that catharsis seems disingenuous and unearned as on "I Don't Think About You" Adele already seems completely healed and over the break up.

Once hailed as "the next Amy Whinehouse", Adele does an utter disservice to that title. "30" is devoid of the soul aspect of her pop/soul genre and proves there's more to being a great artist than powerful vocals. Even the few moments of brilliance pale in comparison to the best tracks on "21" and whether that album was just lightning in a bottle or Adele has simply lost her songwriting talents remains a mystery.

Adele’s 30 seems to be a return to form for the singer. She has built her career on big vocals and sweeping ballads and this album is full of them. On the second track and lead single, ‘I Don’t Think About You’, she sings about moving on with her life after her divorce and on ‘My Little Love’ she expresses her love for her son. However, both of these songs lack the emotional punch of her past work. Her vocals are shrill, the songs are too long, and interrupted by talking that doesn’t seem to further the song’s message. It’s not all duds though, on album highlights ‘Didn’t I’ and ‘All Night Parking Interlude’ she captures a sound that is both current and unique to her. The first track is evocative of Kelly Clarkson’s stellar album ‘Meaning of Life.’ It’s a shame that that sound wasn’t explored more here. The track ‘Hold On’ which takes place towards the middle of the album encapsulates the issues and strengths of this album. It begins as a piano ballad and gradually builds to a fantastic climax in the last two minutes. Unfortunately, Adele never does anything to justify the extent of time it takes to bridge the six minute gap. This album does have other moments of brightness such as the seamless transition from ‘Picture Me Better’ into ‘To Be Loved’ and the non-autotuned potion of ‘Cry Your Heart Out.’ It’s just hard to parse out these moments from the muddled and slow vibes on the rest of the album.

In an interview supporting her previous album, 25, she expressed that it would be her last album named after her age. However she seems to have retracted that and gone ahead with the title 30. I was confused on why she decided to call it that. Did she want to continue the age trend? Did she feel like this album expressed the wisdom that comes with age? Was it a numerical representation of how many seconds until I wanted to turn every song off? Then it dawned on me; Adele has made it a point to name her albums after the age she wrote them, to define them by what she’s learned, what she’s done, what she’s lost. Her fourth full length studio album seems to follow that pattern. After listening you realize she’s learned how to be a mother, she’s drunk a lot of wine, and she’s lost the ability to make enjoyable music.

Like with most Adele releases, they always draw immense hype, after all, she IS the “queen of ballads”. But with this release specifically there was some expetaations put onto her. Will she finally do something not a sappy piano ballad about a breakup? Will she do something more upbeat? Will she write something that’s not a breakup song? The short answer is no.

After being absent for many many years, people were excited and curious about the next chapter of Adele’s life, especially after making headlines about the divorce with her husband Simon Konecki. After hearing more about the divorce, it caused more of a drive to hear what Adele has to say.

The album begins with “Strangers by Nature” and track reminiscent of an old Judy Garland and a spine-tingling orchestra that brings you back to the world of theater in the 60s. With this opener, you’re already strapped in a wild ride and you follow Adele’s journey and transformation following her divorce and life raising a small child who you would believe to be clueless in all of this. Strangers offers an amazing start to the album that keeps you hooked in on what she will say next. Unfortunately, it goes downhill after track 1, which is not a good sign. The second song being the lead single “I Don’t Think About You” is easily a contender for worst tracks of the year. The grating and annoying chorus and the most basic lyrics that can ever be written, the fact that this was made the single instead of the steller beginning track proves the Capitol Records deserves to be defunked. Ignoring that one, the album shortly picks itself back up with the catchy and singable tune “Easy on Me”. Once again, the lyrics don’t take much to analyze or think too closely about, but what makes this track a highlight is most definitely Adkins’ vocal style and performance. “My Little Love” is unfortunately the last redeeming track off the album that offers any sort of substance or anything “good” about the album. But with that track, it can be considered as the centerpiece to the album. The lengthy 6 minute ballad features real audio recordings of a conversation between Adkins and her son Angelo as Adkins attempts to explain the divorce and what that means as well as how Adkins is felling in that moment. Obviously, a kid can only understand so much, so it was both endearing but also difficult to hear.

After this song, the album goes down another steep hill, but doesnt try to pick itself back up. It’s not until the track “Picture Me Better” where you can see and hear a transformation within Adele. An album full of Picture Me Better’s wouldve made this listening experience a lot better. But instead, we got another set of dragged piano ballads that almost leaves you wanting to fall asleep. There is nothing redeeming about this album and it gives nothing that we haven’t seen Adele do for the past three albums already.

At a staggering runtime of over one-hour you would think Adele would want to do something interesting to keep your attention halfway through, but instead gave songs that made it difficult to stay awake.

On her fourth studio album ‘30’, Adele doesn’t manage to overcome the ‘rinse & repeat’ that is often used to describe her discography. Even though there are a few attempts at pushing past her usual piano-driven sonical boundaries (on the one hand, more upbeat songs like “Can I Get It” or “Didn’t I” - on the other, more theatrical, grand efforts like “Strangers By Nature” or “Solitude”), and despite the fact one could say there are hints of experimentation that weren’t as present in her previous efforts, the overall result remains a safe choice for an established artist like her and one of the most distinct vocalists of our generation.

Carried by the chart-topping smash “I Don’t Think About You” and its follow-up “Oh My God”, the record showcases signature Adele lyricism and instrumentals. Still nostalgic, still heart-wrenching, now stained by the aftermath of the singer’s highly publicized divorce, thematically ‘30’ milks the break-up anthem lane the English songstress feels so comfortable in. It still feels like a classic Adele album, in the sense that it serves all your spring heartbreak needs and more.

The album’s downfall is mainly carried by its length. There are way too many songs that do not enhance the listening experience. They actually hinder it. There is no need for multiple instrumental interludes in an album like this. Additionally, the repetition of topics and themes makes it feel even longer. The project feels like it drags on forever as a result. By the time you reach the closing track, you’ve forgotten about the highlights of the album (which get lost around the middle of the album, some being “Easy On Me”, “I Drink Wine”, and possibly the crown jewel “To Be Loved”, which is individually affected by the excessive length issue, with a runtime of almost seven minutes).

If you were expecting a direction shift, you may be disappointed by this album. One can’t help but feel like this won’t age as well as some of her older efforts. And that is because it does not feel like an album that has been over half a decade in the making. If we were to compare her age-title saga with a movie franchise, ‘30’ would be known as the filler one. Whether that means it will remembered as her worst, most uninspired effort, or the grounds for a career revival moment with her upcoming projects, is yet to be clear.

Adele is no stranger when it comes to ballads. Her past 3 albums main drive was those type of songs, which majority focused on her journey with heartbreak. After nearly a decade of no new music, she returns with a new album, but does it really show that she needed that much length for a break? Does it really show her growth after that much time away? That is where the problem starts.

Adele started the era with the lead single ‘I Don’t Think About You’, which isn’t exactly a bad song, but when she has this much high status, it is time to bring us something NEW. The song delivers what you would expect from her, outstanding performance vocally, but that’s about it. It is a redundant break up song and if you told me it was part of 21 or 25, I wouldn’t tell the difference. Adele then delivers something different, the second single off this album, ‘Oh My God’, which launched alongside the album release and is more uplifting sonically. Contrary to the Metacritic score, it would've been more interesting to see Adele dive into this type of sound as it would’ve been different than her past discography.

Diving into each song one by one shouldn’t be difficult to do however when almost all tracks are similar sounding and have the same type of story, it’s tricky. Songs like My Little Love, I Drink Wine and Love is a Game would’ve been more powerful if they weren’t dragged down by the duration, which are around 6 minutes each. My Little Love particularly could’ve removed all the talking bits and could've been a contender for one of her best songs ever if so. Some parts of the tracklist are wonky, specifically ‘Didn’t I’ which is like an upbeat dated radio candy of the 2014 era clashing onto ‘Solitude’, an instrumental cinematic sounding interlude, which feels like Adele slapped it on solely to meet Grammy eligibility. Not to mention ‘Love is a Game’ feeling like a powerful closer, like you are getting up from your seat at the movie theatre watching the credits roll…. but then ‘Endless Journey’ comes on and ruins the entire flow.

Countless of duds scatter around the album, including ‘Easy on Me’ which, again, is like an outtake of 21 or 25. ‘Didn’t I’ and ‘Can I Get It’ feel like Adele is out of touch and didn’t have a phone all this time, that sound was left almost a decade ago for a reason. ‘Hold On’, ‘Picture Me Better’ and ‘To Be Loved’ are perfect for when you cannot sleep at night. But 30 also contains strong material like ‘Cry Your Heart Out’, ‘Oh My God’, ‘All Night Parking’ and songs like ‘My Little Love’ and ‘Love is a Game’ are great as well, but cannot be listed them with the others because they are longer than needed.

With the world anticipating her return for so long, Adele should’ve came back with a stronger album that dives into a sound that she had not touched in the past. Instead it seems like we'll be getting more of the 21 saga for the rest of our lives.

Nearly eight years have gone by since Adele’s last studio album 25, and in that time, not only the world, but the industry has changed a lot. Streaming became the dominant way to consume music, album promotional cycles have been cut in half, and the general public has a smaller attention span than ever before. Therefore, it makes sense to ask, can the once massively influential Adele adapt to these changes and continue leading the music industry? “I Don’t Think About You”, released at the start of the year as the lead single to her new record 30, might have answered that question commercially, but the record itself tells a very different answer sonically.

At its root, 30 is a regressive progression in Adele’s career. Throughout the album, she delves deep into new musical landscapes, yet somehow manages to cling onto her, at this point, extremely fatiguing expected sound. The issue is, as Adele is entering these new musical landscapes, she is dragging along with her the worst aspects of her musical output. These aspects have been with her since her debut on 19, but have always been able to be ignored, up until their main-stage moment on 30. This is best seen on tracks such as “My Little Love” or “Cry Your Heart Out”. On the former, she attempts to artistically include voice notes from her personal life, but just like her writing, they feel extremely formulaic, giving their addition to the album no meaning. It is as if you can just tell she knew all along these “private recordings” were making the album. Other times on the album, she is just flat out giving the same-old, same-old. The 1-2 punch of “I Don’t Think About You” and “Easy On Me” add no favors to the record as both songs are painfully basic, sounding like every Adele song we have ever heard before. Then there’s her featuring two completely instrumental tracks on the album, “Solitude” and “Endless Journey”. Instrumental songs at their best can serve as a beautiful addition to the album, but at their worst be completely unneeded. These 2 songs fall into the latter. Both are extremely out of place on the album, and “Endless Journey” is extremely criminal with how it completely destroys the genius fade-out outro of “Love Is A Game”, the best track on the album.

Overall, 30 is a steep fall from grace for Adele. It is a sign that what might have worked brilliantly for her back in the early tens on 21, single-handedly ending the dance-pop epidemic, is not working a decade later. One should hope she does not go on another jarringly long hiatus, as the output may somehow come out even worse.

Madison Beer has had a rough ride in the music industry. Bouncing around labels and dropping singles with no album for nearly nine years is surely enough to drive anyone crazy but Madison has managed to stay strong through it all and channel it into her fantastic debut album MADHOUSE. The songs themselves find her grappling with problems in her life and the world at large but the theme of perseverance remains throughout. The album starts off strong with ‘Fast Times’ and the lead single ‘Baby.’ Both are fun pop tracks that still carry the edge to them that runs through most of Madison’s music. On the fourth track, ‘Follow the White Rabbit,’ Madison’s vocals are laced with a hollow distortion that is seen on a lot of the tracks later on. It’s a very striking and effective way to carry the Madhouse aesthetic throughout the songs without explicitly having lyrics about it. The next song titled ‘XS’ is about consumerism. The track carries a good message and is a fun listen but the choice to feature the rapper CL is a curious one. The only other collab on this album is the album’s second single ‘Bitches These Days’ with Addison Rae. It discusses the two faced nature girls can have and how it would be better to be direct than fake. The two girls have had a tumultuous relationship in the media this past year and although it’s not clear when this song was recorded, you can’t help but feel they’re singing at each other. The tone abruptly shifts after this to ‘Reckless’ which is a slow, haunting song about a cheating partner. The intro is reminiscent of a child’s lullaby and the lyrics are framed as her reading is a storybook. Both of these work immensely well to give the narrator an innocence and vulnerability that hasn’t shown up much on this album. The next two songs seem to carry on the narrative set up by ‘Reckless’ as ‘Stay Numb And Carry On’ finds her managing her emotions and ‘Stole My Man’ is a jubilant song about how she’s glad the break up happened because she’s better for it. The latter is a joy to listen to and a clear single choice for the future. The album closes with ‘Sour Times’ which serves to bookend the album with a title mimicking the first track and shows how her attitude has changed during her journey through the “MADHOUSE.” Overall, the album is a very strong pop album that sticks out amongst it’s competitions and one that was well worth the almost decade long wait.

Madison Beer releases her debut album madhouse. The fourteen track album dwelves on heartbreak and the emotional baggage that relationships can leave on us. On her debut she shows strongly who her musical influences are and gives us raw and honest lyrics when we get to the real deep cuts in the album. From catchy hooks to emotional lyrics Madison Beer’s Madhouse is a very solid debut. On “Fast Times” which fits perfectly as an opener, she sings about how fast tracked the relationship was, skipping stages and whether or not they meant it. Bass line and drums start the song and it quickly begins to add more to its production and feels fast paced, just like the relationship the song is talking about. Second track and lead single “Baby” feels very much like the hit single written for the album. While the song is catchy it feels artificial, despite the lyrics being about being too good for someone. The song's outro feels like an Ariana Grande redux and while Madison makes it work it feels just like a copycat version of an Ariana run rather than making it her own. The third track of the album “Don’t Say It” feels much more like a fully realized song than baby does. Madison proves she’s capable of catchy hooks, fun lyrics and great production. The bass on the song is a scene stealer and the way it's placed in the chorus just elevates the song. Madison doesn’t waste a single second in the song, lyrics get straight to the point. Rock and Matrix inspired “Follow the White Rabbit” is another song where Madison puts all her talents and creates a great song, probably the one that follows the madhouse theme the most. Random lyrics and guitar riffs make the song stand out the most. “XS” features CL, stands out among the album tracks a lot but mostly because it feels like an outlier on the project. A song that comments on how much rich people can spend, wanting more and not caring about its price, feels mostly out of place on a project dealing with heartbreak. “Stained Glass” a song about emotional baggage where Madison pours her heart out on how she feels with the things she’s been through. The simple production accompanies one of the lyrical stand outs on the album where’s willing to open her heart but still weary of being hurt. There’s an interlude on the album that goes directly to “Boyshit” another song that feels written to be a single with a catchy hook and artificial sounds. She calls out how the wrong things her partner says are not understandable due to her not being able to understand the bullshit that comes out of a man's mouth but despite the fun lyrical content its just not the best track on the album. It transitions pretty perfectly into “Why Do You Love Me?” which expands on the toxicity of the relationship she’s singing about, the instrumental compliments the way her vocals are layered. Second single “Bitches These Days” which features Addison Rae. A throwback pop punk song, whose lyrical content has Halsey up in arms. Is a fun track whose energy matches both Addison and Madison whose animosity, before this collaboration, makes the track all but better. “Reckless” is a track where Madison finally lets her songwriting free where she tells her feelings on her boyfriend cheating on her. A truly sincere track where she gets to unwind about the relationship, fake promises and friends being right. “Stay Numb and Carry On” a track where she sings about being numb and not being able to feel though it feels more on the side of getting over it and realizing that the relationship was never in a point of love. The drums accompany her message which transitions to “Stole My Man” where Madison realizes that she’s grateful for the girl that her ex cheated on with because she’s not with him anymore, and another great moment where the bass compliments the chorus extremely well. Madison leaves the album with “Sour Times” where she sings that a one night stand cant be more than that. The drums that can be heard in the background are the scene stealers on this track and Madison’s lyrics are left at a nice spot. Madhouse is a mostly sonically coherent debut album where Madison gets to tell her story, and while there’s always room for improvement she’s stepping in the right direction when it comes to her sound and lyrics.