Ruthlessly Beautiful Songs To Get Stuck In Your Head
Madison Morton is going to make you hum these melodies and there is nothing you can do to stop her. The Maryland-based songwriter’s Out Loud EP is a solid six-pack of confessional songs; each one brimming with hope, introspection, and a serious amount of determination to embrace change and carry on.
The songs boast rich and expansive arrangements built around Morton’s heartfelt vocals and humble acoustic guitar production. The excellent use of stereo-panning, reverb, and layering creates a spacious environment for Morton’s thoughtful lyrics. Background vocals arc across the soundscape, and percussive elements elevate and sustain the energy as her writing unfolds.
The first two songs, “The Truth” and “Prodigal Daughter,” burst forth with the irrepressibility of new buds in the springtime. Then comes gothic imagery in “The Graveyard” with the line “I like the way that autumn makes us fall in love with decay,” hinting at a shadow lurking behind the hopeful newness established by the EP’s introductory tracks.
“The Graveyard” is also a stage for Morton’s impressive vocal range. The lead vocal line resides in her lower register, while the carefully layered harmony vocals soar effortlessly, over an octave and a half higher. And if the Out Loud EP is meant to present a narrative arc, then the shadow alluded to in this track marks a turning point in the storytelling. Decay implies loss, and loss implies pain. The impersonal ghosts observed in the lyrics of “Graveyard” are soon replaced in later songs with far more personal and tangible relics of loss.
“Space,” a groovy earworm in a 12/8 time signature, performs yet another aural sleight of hand as the buoyant melody belies the story of loss and longing within the poetry.
“Hollow (Before I Go)” is a slow, sensitive, gut-punch of a waltz, with gentle upper-register lead vocals and fantastic background vocals that impeccably come to life through headphones (seriously, try it). It is a reflective, heart-rending song, pleading for an acknowledgement of strength before calling it quits.
But before I go
I just need you to know
I am not hollow
Like I was before
The through-line of all the songs on Morton’s EP is the concept of moving forward, and forward she moves, to the tough but tender namesake track, “Out Loud.” This upbeat, closing track pulls no punches. Describing what it takes to “feel [my] pain out loud,” and reflecting on the tireless quest of “searching for anything good that could possibly look like art,” Morton paints a vivid picture of the universally-felt struggle to create something meaningful and worthwhile.
The EP’s opener boldly proclaims “beauty is ruthless,” which is a knock-out line on its own and also perhaps a fair warning that these catchy and emotive melodies have potential to stay embedded in one’s head. Well-crafted and beautiful, Out Loud is a ruthless body of work.
Out Loud was released in October 2024.