Silence Between Songs by Madison Beer // Album Review
The album opens with "Spinnin", which is one of my favorite songs that she has released yet. Lyrically and vocally, it is one of her strongest, I love the way it keeps building and building up to the end of the song. It is such a vulnerable depiction of her mental health, feeling like she is spiraling mentally as the world is also spinning around her. "I woke up, fell back to sleep, 'cause I'd rather live in my dreams, I lay here wondering why? Did the world stop spinnin'? Am I frozen in time? 'Cause the birds stopped singin', are we flawed by design?" she sings. It reminds me of Ariana Grande's "get well soon" and St. Vincent's "Live In The Dream" which are two of my favorite songs by both of them. It is such a powerful and emotional opening to the album that gives me chills every time I hear it. Toward the mid-point of the album, she shows herself on the other side of this mental spiral that inspired "Spinnin" on track seven, "I Wonder". It is one of the more optimistic songs on the album, with an upbeat jazzy sound to it. "And now each breath of air is sweeter, birds are singin', grass is greener, suddenly, the world is bright again", she sings in the chorus.
"Envy the Leaves" is also such a highlight of the album for me, it may be one of the best songs she has released yet. It is so simplistic in the production and in the lyrical metaphors used, but that level of minimalism makes it feel so meaningful at the same time. It is written as if it is a poem, taking the listener through the seasons with vivid imagery of nature and the world around us. "I envy the leaves that grow from the trees, they're all so carefree through the seasons, unaware of the fall", she sings in the opening lines. It is a stunning song, with her wishing she were able to just live her life without fearing the unknown and what is going to come next, just like the like the leaves that fall from the trees and the snow unaware that it is going to eventually melt. The instrumental breakdown in the outro is also such an unexpected, but moving, way to end the song.
Throughout the Silence Between Songs, Madison shines the most during the more introspective moments of the album. Lyrically she is at her strongest when she is looking inward at herself and reflecting on her own past. The listener can really feel all of the deep emotions she is conveying on those songs where she is the most vulnerable. She goes in detail about her life growing up on songs like "17" and "Ryder", the latter of which is named after her younger brother. "17" was written about her life between the ages of 17 and 21, which she has cited as one of the hardest times she has gone through. She sings, "No memories, like black and white TV and everybody says it'll be okay, like life is just a game, but I don't wanna play". On TikTok, she talked about the process of writing this song and using it as a chance to give herself the grace and forgiveness now that she didn't give herself back then at 17. She said, "...something I wanted to make kind of clear in this song was like always prefacing the chorus with like, 'I hope she knows I wouldn't blame her', 'cause I think it's important to give your younger self as much empathy as possible. 'Cause obviously I was only doing the best I could at the time with like the tools I was given." She continued, "Even though I can look back and feel sad about certain things, I don’t blame my younger self or anything." "17" is such a beautiful song about self-forgiveness, I also love how prominent the jazz influence is on it and how melodic the chorus is.
"Ryder" is a similar song thematically and also one of the most personal she has ever written, as it is dedicated to her brother. "Just two kids caught in the cross-fire", Madison sings. On TikTok she said, "I think there are so many different relationships that life has to offer you, and the one with your sibling is very important, and I think it can also be very complex." In an interview with Rolling Stone she continued, "There’s been a lot of emotions and experiences that we’ve shared over the last 12 years of me doing this with my life, which has then affected his life in turn. Becoming older and being able to reflect on how my choices impacted him without me even knowing they were going to, because I was also just such a young kid."
Although parts of this album do drag on a little bit, an aspect of Silence Between Songs that keeps me coming back is how gorgeous her voice is. Toward the latter half of this album, the track list starts to get a bit bloated with the redundant ballads. While none of the songs are necessarily bad, it is as if they are outtakes of her previous album, Life Support, and don't really offer anything new or interesting to this album. Songs like "Stained Glass" and "Selfish" from her debut just feel like better versions of what she is trying to recapture the magic of now with some of the ballads about love and past relationships. She had such a strong start with the first half of the album, so it's interesting that Silence Between Songs takes that turn midway through. She released many singles over the span of the last two years, some more notable than others. I was surprised that songs like "Reckless" and "Showed Me (How I Fell In Love With You)" even made it on the album because they have been out for so long at this point and would have worked better as one-off singles instead.
My favorite of the singles released in the lead-up to the album is "Home To Another One", which is a very fun pop track with alternative and psychedelic influences. I've had it on repeat for months, it is so addictive to listen to! The chorus interpolates "The Less I Know The Better" by Tame Impala, which is another influence that is very apparent on the second track "Sweet Relief" too. "Sweet Relief" is another major highlight of the album, it's such a cool and fresh sound for her. Alternative music is a really intriguing direction for Madison to be leaning into and I wish she went deeper into those influences on this album overall. Aside from "Home To Another One" and "Sweet Relief", she didn't really dive into that Tame Impala style much more either, which is surprising because it would have been a great creative progression for her. Hopefully she will with future releases.
The title track "Silence Between Songs" is the other note-worthy moment on the second half of the album. I'm surprised it isn't the closing song on the track list, because it would have been such a strong note to end on. Sonically, it reminds me of a jazz rendition of "Toxic" by Britney Spears mixed with "xanny" by Billie Eilish. It's about her struggling to be alone with her thoughts and doing anything she can to drown out the noise. "I can't be alone with my thoughts, when the music's off, no, I can't turn them down, tune them out, don't know how," she sings. The mission of this album overall feels like it is her trying to finally face her deepest thoughts instead of running from them. This song represents that sentiment so well. Like I said earlier, the more introspective and contemplative songs on this album are showcasing Madison at her strongest and most impactful artistically. I love the final lines of this track, "Oh, I never knew that the silence between songs could ever be so lonely and so long," she sings. "So listen close to the silence after this song".
Madison Beer is such a talented and underrated artist in pop music right now. Silence Between Songs is such a meaningful reflection of her past and present self, opening the listener up to a different side of her journey.
Thanks for reading! I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below!
Photo Credit: Madison Beer, Epic Records, LE3AY*
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