Madeline Rosene – “Everyday Existential Crisis”

Madeline Rosene is a singer/songwriter from the US of A. On May 6th 2022, she released a brand new single titled “Everyday Existential Crisis”. We took a listen to the tune, what did we think? Here goes!

Let us spoil you with what this track entirely comprises of, acoustic guitar, vocals (with layers!), some smooth jazz drums somewhere in the middle and that’s pretty much it – if there was bass, we missed it. Now for this style, it’s pretty clear the dominating element of this composition is going to be the vocals so lets talk about that for a little bit. They’re pretty good, but there’s something that feels a bit factory, industrial (if you will) regarding the layers. Done right, it can work, done terribly it can be awful – in this case it’s somewhere in the middle leaning into the “work” category but just about. What makes for a somewhat uncomfortable listening experience is the attempt to put some kind of “vinyl playback” effect that is too quiet to have any meaningful impact but is equally too loud that it just, slightly, muddies the vocals.

Certainly, for any top-40 listener this is sure to sound somewhat familiar. Just outside of the “playing it safe” boundary and you’ll find this. Not quite vocal gymnastics but not conformity either. The drums really are quite pointless in this track and don’t serve anything not even keeping a beat. The acoustic guitar sounds like it was just there as a tick-box exercise.

Overall with the mix and master, it’s not quite right – parts where they’re either too loud or too quiet with absolutely no middle ground whatsoever. No doubt it is an impressive display of vocal abilities from Madeline, but the whole experience is just that bit unsettling – though what do you expect when you see the song title? Rather fitting really, very on-brand with the title.

Listen to “Everyday Existential Crisis” by Madeline Rosene on Spotify. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and visit her official website!

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