Maddie and Tae are not just two girls writing country songs; this dynamic duo took the whole country industry by storm.
Their new debut album, “Start Here,” filled our ears with diverse themes: from coming of age to criticizing mainstream country music.
This duo began when Madison “Maddie” Marlow and Taylor “Tae” Dye, both 15 years old, started singing together after a meeting by chance with their vocal coach.
As they grew older, Maddie and Tae started writing songs together. One of their now well-known songs, “Girl In A Country Song,” started off as an honest opinion of the redundancy of today’s “Bro-country.”
“Bro-country” refers to mainstream country music that leans towards 21st-century hip hop, rock, pop, and electronic music. Criticizers point out the mere repetition of themes such as “painted on” jeans, mud/dust, a rural setting, name calling (“baby” or “pretty little thing”), boots, and trucks, as well as its stereotypical mistreatment of female country artists.
An example of a Bro-country song is Luke Bryan’s “Country Girl.” It goes, “Gonna stomp my boots in the Georgia mud. Gonna watch you make me fall in love. Get up on the hood of my daddy’s tractor… girl I can’t wait to watch you do your thing.” In other words, everything I mentioned Bro-country music is about.
This has been going on for a long time and finally, a song was written about it. Thank you, Maddie and Tae.
They don’t even try to hide it, deliberately pointing out all the childish mainstream phrases and comments against feminism. The best part: Maddie and Tae do it with such class that even Bro-country songs can’t deny the truth.
“Girl In A Country Song” goes, “We used to get a little respect. Now we’re lucky if we even get to climb up in your truck, keep our mouth shut and ride along. And be the girl in a country song.”
Maddie said, âBoys, we love you. We want to look good, but itâs not all weâre good for. We are girls with something to say. We were brought up to know how we should be treated.â
On that note, Maddie and Tae gave females a voice and reminded them that they are not alone.
Another theme they visit in “Start Here” is bullying. When Maddie and Tae were in high school, there was a drama queen who pushed them to their limits.
To get over it, they wrote the song “Sierra.” This song had phrases such as “karma” and “the universe is going to get you back.”
With this song, Maddie and Tae wanted to relate with people who were in the same situation and remind them that focusing on “drama queens” was a waste of time, since it would come back to them sooner or later.
Other songs like “Fly” and “After The Storm Blows Through” are both inspiring and touching because of their beautiful lyrics and synchronization.
âHonestyâs always the best policy,â said Tae. âWeâre telling our stories and hope people can relate.â
With that said, your new-music playlist can start here.
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