Maddy Davis steps out of adolescence and into reality on ‘MUD’

Recommended Tracks: “Sally! I Met a Boy”, “If You Wrote Me A Song”, “Don’t Be A Stranger”
Artists You May Like: Billie Eilish, Anna Shoemaker, Olivia Rodrigo

As kids, we are convinced that we will grow into better versions of ourselves when we get older. We will know what to say in conversations, figure out how to create stable relationships, and learn what it takes to get things done. Before this can happen, however, we have to break ourselves down and build back up. On Maddy Davis’ debut EP, MUD, the indie singer-songwriter takes a look at herself with a critical lens, highlighting who she is and who she wants to be. We learn why she is “America’s favorite middle child,” and just what it means to step out of adolescence and into reality.

On MUD, we catch Maddy as she addresses her actions and questions her moves. Opening track “Middle Kid” is a classic “self-diss” anthem, Maddy covering up what she has to say about herself with hazy indie pop melodies. The judgment in her voice is telling, though, especially through lines like, “You wear the world on your shoulders / ‘Cause it feels good doesn’t it / You think too deep and late at night / You keep your standards way too high.” On “Sally! I Met a Boy,” she judges her tendency to fall in love with the wrong people, telling her older sister, “Sally, you’ve seen me love, but I love him even harder / I know I say that every week, but now I’m smarter.” She is sure that this guy is different and it will work out, but as we hear on “Kinda Thought,” we find that Maddy can get ahead of herself. Over the twinkling sounds of the piano, she tries to find closure, giving us lines like, “Kinda thought you’d get over your past / Kinda thought that you’d love me for me.” She holds this defeat with her all the way to the end of the track, mentioning, “Sometimes things aren’t just gonna go my way.”

As she navigates herself, Maddy also navigates relationships. We hear actual messages from an ex on “If You Wrote Me A Song,” where this past lover shares, “And I take you for granted, I know / If you wrote me a song, that’s what you’d say / That’s what you’d sing to me every day.” We then hear Maddy’s own lament on “Don’t Be A Stranger.” Singing with more pronounced and exposed vocals on this lilting piano ballad, Maddy invites an ex back into her life while also asking, “Do you think of me / Even when you know you probably shouldn’t be? / Is this a bad dream? / When will I wake up and still be 16…” It is clear that Maddy takes love seriously, which also comes through on “You Still Send Me Beats Though.” On this track, we are acquainted with a desire for clarity as to where she stands with someone, leading her to ask over layers of vocals, “Do you love me?”

Maddy expressed that her goal for MUD was “to serve as an open book to the public eye.” With this EP, she is as open as she can get, making fun of herself, coming to terms with heartbreak, and separating what she needs from what she wants. It is a concise coming-of-age project, its six tracks doing well to guide and heal. As Maddy takes her next steps into this world, we are sure she will branch out of her “middle child” ways and into indie pop success.