Madia
Philadelphia native and up-and-coming singer/songwriter Madia offers up a collection of adult-themed testimonials mixed with soulful, dance-pop numbers for her third indie release, Go Get It. Considering its Valentine’s Day release date, the album’s gamut of emotions is bittersweet. However, the all-too-common themes of contemporary R&B – lying, cheating, and freaking – are far from Madia’s focus. She strives to provide a delicate balance between pain and inspiration as shown on the album’s bookends: the first full song, “City Girl,” and the “Go Get It” ending. A sort of hustler’s anthem, the former salutes the young professional woman who successfully tackles the tasks of fast-paced city life. The title track, of course, is more explicit, proudly declaring the album’s inspirational theme.
Simply put, Go Get It is grown-woman talk. Writing all her own songs, Madia crafts every lyric with careful forethought and her maturity enables her confessions to be very palpable. Her songwriting skill isn’t near the level of a Chrisette Michele or Jill Scott, two very apparent influences of hers displayed throughout the album. But then, there are gems like “Don’t Look Down,” where she manipulates her metaphor to fit the scenario of each verse.
Yet even with all this potential, the album unfortunately still manages to be an uninspired listen and lacks greatly needed spontaneity. The vocal arrangements tend to be too contained, and oftentimes, the adlibs sound strained or unnatural (“No More Fights”). Perhaps it’s the lackluster production straightjacketing Madia’s creativity or maybe deliberate forethought turns into over-thinking, because when the music finds its way most successfully when driven by simpler licks and chord progressions, like the acoustic soul-pop of “This Love” or the lush, percussion-less vamps on “Love Again.”
And, of course, with this contradiction between talent and execution, there are some missed opportunities for Madia to really let loose, particularly with some of the smooth-beat, dance records. On the emotional rollercoaster “Call Me Crazy,” the songwriting far outshines the performance with its poignant lines and literally, “crazy” non sequiturs: “Call me crazy but you gotta go/Bipolar disorder, ‘What you want?,’ but boy it’s over/It’s the end of our show.” Madia’s ability to convey her vulnerabilities as a source of strength is definitely no easy feat, but it does no good when it can only be shown by words on paper instead of through the vocal performance.
-- Cyril Cordor
