SINGLE REVIEW: MADDIE JANE WARREN - SKINNY

Next month, Country Calling is offering a unique chance for #TEAMw21 to catch up with a number of people we have yet to see play live or have only seen once. Sitting very high on the list is Maddie Jane Warren. Her forthcoming EP is set to be one of the releases of the year, it comes packed with a quality that is the essence of any great record and that is honesty.

With her latest release "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 being 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. It was surely not an easy decision to write and release this song however it was absolutely the right thing to do and come "Country Calling" when Maddie Jane Warren takes to the stage, you'll know where to find #TEAMw21.

Country Calling is Aug 16/17th Hylands Estate Essex - https://tickets.country-calling.com/events/country-calling-2025/