Madi Foster is that kind of singer who could be on stage and you really don’t feel the need to move or do anything else but just sit down and listen to her. It’s authentic, it’s stirring, and it’s the most current and has that vintage spice. I’ve written this review about her latest single, “White Lines,” but I would definitely recommend listening to her other song from 2021 – “En Rose”. It is just brilliantly in your face and you can tell the kind of song that is an intimate sharing with a friend, once the eighteen seconds of guitar goes by, then a steady build-up of instruments which walk into the room. For the love of the chords by themselves, listen to it.
However, the song “White Lines” starts with the guitar and piano which are still less intimate than the piano in “En rose”, but equally interactive. Falsetto singing is her forte: she almost seems to channel Brandi Carlile, delivering a neatly balanced mix of vibrato and a subtle rasp. The steel guitar and drums come in gradually, loud enough for you to know that they are there, but they exit just as quickly as they came. Madi’s lyrics are very tender, telling her listeners to “open your eyes” and “let in the light”.
At this point in writing the review, I had only listened to the two songs mentioned, but “Slow Motion” seems to be her most popular track, and I’m now a fan, so… here goes: This one is the first and it is accompanied by a repetitive acoustic that is a bit similar to Bon Iver’s “Blindsided” which is one of the most beautiful indie folk songs ever created. “Slow Motion” is one more of the excellent tracks, still with harmonies, banjo-like faint hints and lap steel beauty.
The lyrics of Madi Foster’s songs are plain and true. And when I say this, that’s how they could have been done in at least one take sitting in the living room, too. The absence of any flashy production and outright autotune is evident. They are tales; they are the matter; they are the truth.
Madi Foster – White Lines
