Maddie & Tae slowed down START HERE to make sure they got their debut album exactly the way they wanted it for an August 28 release. The 2015 Academy of Country Music Vocal Duo of the Year nominees are trying to create music they can truly stand behind – and the media is already affirming their decision to wait.
Teen Vogue interviews the pair about the project, finding, “the girls putting female stereotypes in country music to shame.” The introduction also offers START HEREis “full of songs detailing real-life emotions and experiences, a la Taylor Swift with a bit more Southern soul.”
Seventeen picked START HERE as their September/Back To School Issue’s CD to Download, while The Boot named it their Album of the Month, ahead of Luke Bryan, Kip Moore and Pat Green.
“We’re really blessed that everyone trusted us when we asked to delay the record,” says Maddie Marlow. “We’ve spent almost five years writing and living these songs – and we wanted to make sure we got them just right.”
Tastemaking website Young Hollywood had the girls in for a visit, as well as a performance of “Fly,” which hit the Top 15 this week.
Maddie & Tae, with their script-flipping “Girl In A Country Song” and empowering ballad “Fly,” have seen their music accelerate their dreams from the beginning. After a summer on the road with Dierks Bentley, the girls with well over 25 million video views announce their START HERE Tour, kicking off October 10 at New York City’s Highline Ballroom.
“Maddie and I wanted to get out and play all the songs from this new record,” Tae Dye says. “We’ve spent a few years writing these songs, figuring out how to say what we thought was important about being our age, and figuring out how to create our kind of music, we wanted to take some time and show people all of who we are!”
“Spending the summer with Dierks’ SOUNDS OF SUMMER TOUR was an amazing masterclass in playing,” continues Maddie. “He has such a great sense of how to connect with the audience, but he also understands how to keep music the focus… to make sure the playing and the songs don’t get lost in the fun of it. To write songs that matter is one thing, to bring people inside them is another. I can’t wait to share all the songs with the fans once START HERE comes out.”
Slated for release August 28, START HERE chronicles two young women’s take on the world, mean girls, dumb boys and coming into one’s own with the candor, heart and humor that marked their breakout “Girl In A Country Song.” As the first female act to hit #1 in eight years with a debut single, the girls ignited critical acclaim from The New Yorker, Entertainment Weekly, The Atlantic Monthly, Rolling Stone, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post and NPR.
National Public Radio’s Ann Powers was one of the first to weigh in, raving “Maddie & Tae are more. They’re songwriters, powerful harmonizers and in the video for ‘Girl In A Country Song,’ natural comediennes.” That spirit defines their upcoming Dan Huff-produced debut – which the triple CMT Video Music Awards and ACM Duo nominees paused after a whirlwind year to make sure all the songs and arrangements were just right.
“A lot of what’s happened to us is a blur,” Marlow says with a laugh. “So much, so fast, so wow. But every face we’ve seen, every smile in the crowd, every person we’ve met who tells us about one of our songs, whether it’s ‘Fly’ or ‘Shut Up and Fish,’ we remember that. With the album almost here and this tour being announced, it finally feels like we’re catching up with ourselves and our dream.”
“Looking back, maybe it was crazy for Maddie and I to pick up, leave home and chase these songs to Nashville,” Dye continues. “But the music was too strong, and our need to hear songs that talked about the things happening in lives like our’s was too real… and so we didn’t have a choice. Suddenly, with everything coming together, it feels real. And this tour means we get to share it with all the people just like us.”
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