Madison McFerrin
SCORPIO
MadMcFerrin Music
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Madison McFerrin’s second album SCORPIO finds her making strides forward from her loveable, if at times, slight debut album I Hope You Can Forgive Me (2023). Here, she extends and develops her vocal arrangement skills and songwriting whilst retaining the same attitude to brevity that her debut embraced.
Affairs of the heart, the breakdown of relationships and ex-lovers’ comeuppances are the main subjects and what she excels at is changing the dynamics in a song and making songs that last barely three minutes seem greater in scale as a result. There is also a feeling that her voice is stronger here than on her debut album—the delightful harmonizing was always there, but here there are runs and notes held than belie extra confidence and strength, such as on one of the standouts, “Run It Back.”
And “Run It Back” is a fine example of the various strengths of the album. It begins with just her voice and the piano, before handclaps and backing vocals arrive as it builds to a climax. There’s no bass and drums, but it is funky, a prime example of the notion that sometimes it is not the notes themselves that create the atmosphere (as pretty as they may be), but rather the gaps between them. McFerrin drips with sultry seductiveness throughout and her vocals are magnificent.
“I Don’t” is another song that feels grand in scale but is actually less than three minutes. Once again (as throughout) her vocal harmonies are a delight, but the intensity of the piece is accelerated by a welcome fuzzed-up guitar solo from Willow (Smith). I’m always really happy to hear an electric guitar solo in R&B or soul music, as it echoes work by such luminaries as Ernie Isley and Prince—reminders that Black guitarists from those genres belong in the upper echelons of those never-ending (and slightly boring?) conversations about “the greatest” and so forth.
Listen to the Album:
On “Blue,” it is the acoustic guitar that accompanies McFerrin’s remembrance of a loved one and the simplicity of the accompaniment offers proof that her vocals don’t need to be steeply banked and harmonized to kingdom come to be striking, emotive and memorable. There’s a rare appearance of strings on the melancholy “Lesson” and, again, her voice shines while there is a hint of Billie Holiday phrasing when she sings “you were a lesson.”
Perhaps the overriding impression on the album is strength. I’ve mentioned already the change to her voice, but the lyrics also tell the tale of someone knowing when to walk away from a relationship. On penultimate track “The End” she says, “I need a little more than you’re willing to give” and on the dance floor inflected “Over > Forever” she sings, “time to get your shit together” to her (ex) lover. She knows when to demand her worth.
This album definitely demonstrates a deepening and widening of McFerrin’s talents and deserves a place in people’s collections or on their playlists.
Notable Tracks: “Ain’t It Nice” | “Blue” | “I Don’t” | “Run It Back”
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