Never intending to set a spark quickly, 19 and 20-year-old Maddie Marlow and Tae Dye wrote their hit album Start Here, which released on Aug. 28, 2015, aiming to entertain with songs about the way they areliving life.
The two teenagers kicked off their career with their smash hit, “Girl in a Country Song” that made its debut in 2014. By December of 2014, it had reached number one on the Mediabase and Billboard country airplay charts.
Celebrations occurred all around as Maddie & Tae were the first female duo in eight years to top the charts with a debut single. Especially by Big Machine president Scott Borchetta, who signed the unknown duo to his label Dot Records.
Listeners that are tired of “bro country,” the massively dominant sub-genre that celebrates endless streams of beer, girls, and pick-up trucks will enjoy the brilliantly sung mockery. “Like all we’re good for is looking good for you and your friends on the weekend.” Other songs are written to relate to women going through the same thing. Themes include bullying (“Sierra”), the power of friendship (“After the Storm Blows Through”), clueless boys (“Shut Up & Fish”), and heartbreak (“Smoke”).
The songs provide aspirational advice wrapped in country tropes. Each song has a different vibe while the chorus latches itself into the listener’s brain, leaving them with the catchy verses stuck in their head.
The album is comprised of radio-friendly pop-rock and Dixie Chicks-inspired mid-tempo ballads. It speaks loudest with its small-scale anecdotes of teenage mishaps and first-time thrills.
The duo’s emergence occurred right around the departure of Taylor Swift in country music. The two singer-songwriters, happen to be signed to the same label (Dot Records) as Swift, providing a much needed teenage girl perspective.
Maddie and Tae focus on the ditzy struggles and small challenges of finding the way through late adolescence. The two singers met when they were both 15 and moved to Nashville to pursue their dreams of becoming singer-songwriters.
The duo is be touring around the country with a few other country artists and will make their way to Jacksonville, FL on November 14, 2015 at the Backwoods Country Jam.
The Hilights
Album Title: Start Here
Release date: 8/28/15
Cost: $9.19
Download: iTunes