“I’ve recorded at The Grove before with Jackson when we were finishing off my first EP, NOT HUMAN AT ALL. So, knowing the area and having already fallen in love with it, it was the right place to record the album. Recording there was comforting, the bush reminded me of Tassie and it allowed for that focus. Staying on the property you don’t have to worry about anything, it’s eliminates all those distractions and for me, that environment makes a huge difference.”
“When writing, although there has been significant growth, it will always be like self-therapy. It’s getting it out and expressing myself, and I’m so grateful that people relate to that too because it’s just me getting shit off my chest! But it will always be the most honest I can be.”
Maddy’s latest single Perfection's A Thing And You're It is the one song that sums up the two key themes of the album: self-awareness and opposites, and how they coincide. “It’s not a love song,” explains Maddy. “It’s sarcasm for; perfection’s not a thing and you can’t be it. It came from people in my life who were not willing to accept other people’s faults, or their own. It’s a song saying no one is perfect and we should try to love all of ourselves and others, faults and all.”
Visually, Maddy felt that the playing card theme was a strong metaphor for the ups and downs of life – which is what the album is all about. “The playing card idea kept coming up whenever I thought about the visual representation of these songs. NOT ALL BAD OR GOOD is about different aspects of life, but I think it relates a lot to a game of cards – you play what you get and its life so it’s going to have some highs and it’s going to have the lows.”
Hailing from Bruny Island in Tasmania, Maddy's honest lyrics and captivating song writing have earned her places on huge arena tours supporting the likes of Catfish and the Bottlemen, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Harry Styles. NOT ALL BAD OR GOOD, produced by Maddy and Jackson Barclay, is a cathartic release for a rising star of Australia’s indie word, and a debut that this incredible storyteller is proud to now share with the world.
Release: May 1st, 2020, Lemon Tree Recordings/Sony Music
Words: Lemon Tree/Sony