The American musician Madison Cunningham delivers with “Revealer” a very beautiful and wonderful album, which stimulates the imagination endlessly both musically and vocally with particularly exciting songs.
I had never heard of Madison Cunningham until recently, but since my first listen to her new album “Revealer”, I think the chances of her popping up high in my annual list in December are huge. The American musician has a beautiful voice and is a talented guitarist and songwriter. Together with many top musicians and renowned producers, she has made an album that never chooses the easiest way, but nevertheless effortlessly seduces. Madison Cunningham’s adventurous songs amaze and amaze, but also sound particularly pleasant and “Revealer” only becomes more beautiful when you hear the album more often. Impressive.
There’s something in Madison Cunningham’s music for everyone: folk roots, but with jazzy accents and sharp enough guitar and drum lines to allow you to move with it. There’s so much glittering on the surface of “Revealer”, and then so much that swims underneath. Although the first few tracks sparkle, the album takes you by surprise with curveballs like “Life According to Raechel,” a true heartbreaker in the center of the album that leaves your skin crawling with sorrow, and “Who Are You Now,” relentlessly asking the listener, “Who are you now / Who are you this time?”
Her songs feel like perfectly and eccentrically built cupboards, housing everything just so inside different nooks, making well-organized space for the shape of every word and synth swell. From the melodies and arrangements to the lyrics, it is clear that this LP is in the most vulnerable space, one of self-consciousness coupled with a lot of emotion in every possible direction. Cunningham never has to scream to make herself heard. Instead, she often remains low to the ground with her volume, making it all the more powerful when her voice soars into pure upper registers or the cymbals accent her point. On album closer, “Sara And The Silent Crowd,” she aims for her own heart and yours, leaving you with: “And when the glamour dies down, there’s only you now / Only you and yourself to appease the silent crowd / And no one can shelter you now.”
Madison has really grown beyond the confines of the sweet-voiced “singer-songwriter” genre definitions with this sophisticated and richly composed record. Her catchy guitar licks have strong jazz influences, and her chops most certainly have jazz influences! She singe with power, sensitivity to the lyrics, and a meaningful clarity. Beautifully crafted and beautifully performed throughout, there’s not a weak track here,
released September 9th, 2022
The Fat Angel Sings 