EP REVIEW: MADDIE JANE WARREN - THE DIFFERENCE

Rarely has an artist we have never seen play live made it quite so quickly from being totally off radar to becoming an essential listen, but Maddie Jane Warren is such an act. The quintessential thing that consolidated her position was an early listen to "The Difference", a collection of songs that stay with you long after the EP has finished playing.

The effort that has been afforded to getting these tunes ready for the outside world is clearly heard on each track, it makes for a most compelling collection, one that picks on subjects rarely sung about and doing it with an openness and honesty that need to be respected and admired. Hailing from North Devon, and soon to be seen at Country Calling, Maddie Jane Warren is an artist undoubtedly deserving your immediate attention,

The opening track "Pity Party" is an upbeat strumming guitar opening, an additional electric guitar later adds some background flourishes

It is a definite comeuppance for the protagonist in the song who inspires lines like

" I can see there's no end - to your narcissistic family trend

Cos everyone of you, liked to burn a bridge instead of mend"

The chorus sees a a full band ensemble,

"So go ahead and throw yourself a Pity Party

And cry about how no-ones coming to your castle for tea

Cos no-one likes going to a house, made of bones from their body

So go ahead girl, and throw yourself a Pity Party"

The final chorus sees a full on party atmosphere with lots of additional vocals.

It is certainly the most upbeat track of the whole EP.

With "Skinny", Maddie Jane treads a fine line between how much of yourself you want to share with the wider public because it may open a Pandora's box that spirals out of your control, against sharing something that may be for the greater good, something that people may see themselves in and find some sort of succour and comfort.

The opening verse is built solely around a recurring guitar theme, Maddie Jane's voice when it appears falls somewhere between wistful and resigned. She wastes little time getting to the point.

"I try to practice what I preach

But my patience running thin

I know I shouldn't think about my weight

I wanna write a song to sing

Could be about anything but thin

I know I shouldn't think about my weight

But I'm sick of not being sick enough

And sick of feeling sick"

The final two lines are heartbreaking to read on the page and powerfully bring home the realities being faced. There is also some playing with the words "thin" and "sick" to great effect by using their different meanings.

The chorus heralds the arrival of some percussion, just an occasional few beats at first but it adds a presence.

"Don't want to be sad - just want to be skinny

I don't want to be mad if my jeans not fitting

I know beautiful is all shapes and sizes

As long as that size isn't me

Don't want to be sad - I just want to be skinny"

It is an outlook on life that maybe few can fully grasp, yet there are undoubtedly people who will hear this and be glad to know that they are not alone.

The percussion become a little more pronounced after the opening chorus

"I want to eat three meals a day

And not go running to the gym

To be thin

Is it easier to waste away?"

There seems to be cavernous gap between the end of the second line and the start of the third, it just nails home the inner torment - even more so when the dark contemplation of the final line of the verse appears.

"I know I shouldn't care what people think

It's the enemy inside me that wins

I know I shouldn't think about my weight

I know I shouldn't think about my weight

Maybe it's time to lose some weight!"

Throughout the recording Maddie Jane can be found saying the word "Thin" as an almost backing vocal or repeating the line "I know I shouldn't think about my weight", to give a feeling of what it is like to have that voice constantly nagging away in the back of your mind. There are also exquisite backing vocals that are incredibly subtle yet bring a layer of warmth to the overall sound.

The levels of internal turmoil make a difficult read.

"Everyone just seems so perfect - so tell me where I'm going wrong"

The song ends with Maddie Jane recalling the opening lines, the final two words barely tumble from her lips.

It's a tune that once heard cannot be unheard, it is affecting and you would have to have a cold heart not to be touched in some way after hearing it. Despite being so hard hitting, it is also most definitely a thing of beauty, Maddie Jane's vocals throughout become ever forceful and weave a most beautiful aural web that truly captures the listener.

"Shame" details the perils of dating in the modern world.

A gentle acoustic guitar and percussion eases us in and finds Maddie Jane, convincing herself to get on the dating merry go round once more

"It can't go wrong what happened before

Won't happen this time

You think you've got to give him a try"

Maddie Jane manages to imbue her vocal with a sort of reluctant sound that is just right for this return to the dating game.

In this age of swiping one way or the other, there is little to be done beforehand other than sneaky detective work to get a better idea of who you are meeting and so little way of knowing if you will gel.

Maddie Jane's song is exactly that, a date high on hope and expectation yet one that failed to click

The chorus spells out the lack of frisson in more detail, Maddie Jane, who takes the positives from it but is slightly downbeat about it just not working out.

"It was a Shame, a fire didn't spark

No angel in the dark this time

It was a Shame, no bodies intertwined

No head or your hand in mine

It was a shame but a laugh, yeah we had a good time

Knocking back wine

It was a Shame, you couldn't be mine"

The sound of an electric guitar becomes faintly more prominent on the second verse, just slightly altering the sound. it comes as the second verse finds Maddie Jane pondering on her lack of feelings for her erstwhile date.

"How could I know that loving you wasn't easy?

How could I know that I wouldn't feel a thing?

At least I can say that I tried, and he's a good guy

Just not it for me

How could I know that it wasn't meant to be?"

The bridge gets repeated three times, each time round the band are building up in volume and while Maddie Jane adds additional intensity in her delivery. The first time round it is a sweet melodic take, the final version sees Maddie Jane end on an extended note at a much greater volume

"There just wasn't a love, there wasn't a heat

Nothing to start, and nothing between"

"Scared Of You" is another deeply personal song that makes for uncomfortable listening, where the beauty of the music being played is directly opposite to the events being described. It covers seeing someone in later life that made your life hell and being triggered to feel those same feelings again. It opens to a gently picked guitar that will be ever present throughout, the appearance of a cello adds a sense of gravitas as if any more were needed.

The sense of how deeply affecting this torment was is covered with lines like

"I tried to medicate, but nothing really calms me down

I tried to call a Doctor, to finally get you off my skin"

and where the words "Ruined me" so sweetly sung by Maddie Jane carry such weight of feeling.

The closing lines are simply the feelings that no-one should need to face.

"I hide up in my room,

I'm twenty six years old

And scared of you"

It's a compelling if not easy listen, one hopes that airing it is a way to finally break the chain.

The closing title track, "The Difference" is totally different from all that precedes it - being solely on piano, apart from some thoughtful hmm's, there is little else sound wise. It focuses the attention on the words and they are devastating.

The opening verse sets the scene, happier times at first, the closing lines sound somewhat ominous. Maddie Jane sings with a slightly detached air, as if struggling to take it in.

"It's funny, the little things that we did

Like brother like sister, like best friends and cousins

It's crazy the little time that we had

Would we still be laughing and playing if we knew that?"

The second verse covers the awkward silences and pleasantries that comes in the aftermath of a tragedy. The horrible dilemma between wanting to offer comfort and knowing that there is nothing that will dull the pain. Maddie Jane is able to capture the mundane false reality that appears in these situations with alarming accuracy.

"The silence, as I walk to the door

Your mum and your dad staring straight through the glass at me

They offered "Have a hot cup of tea"

We're talking, ignoring the reason we're here to be"

The final verse explains the real unimaginable horror of a child passing.

"The difference as I walked through your bedroom

Yesterday we were here, breathing

In between I got a "When you turn 2"

Still there in your card, it's last comfort for you"

Like much of the EP, it opens doors that many may wish stayed shut, but it does so with a sense of caring and tenderness, with every word carefully considered. It closes a quite stunning piece of work

Maddie Jane Warren will be performing at Country Calling Aug 16/17th

Hylands Estate Essex - https://tickets.country-calling.com/events/country-calling-2025/