Maddie & Tae’s "Start Here" Now Available NPR’s Prestigious “First Listen”
Duo Earn Rave Review in SPIN As START HERE Lands 8/28
NASHVILLE, TN – Every now and then, magic happens. ACM nominated and chart-topping duo
Maddie & Tae proved that Tuesday in Nashville when they celebrated the release of their debut album START HERE and the RIAA PLATINUM-certified hit “Girl In A Country Song.” To top off an extraordinary week, their August 28 album is now being live-streamed early as part of NPR’s prestigious “First Listen” series. To hear what all the fuss is about, click here. NPR Pop critic Ann Powers writes of the Platinum pair’s eagerly anticipated debut, “the duo's sound is firmly rooted in the Country harmonies and acoustic instrumentation that Swift has abandoned, and its songs stress the themes Swift only occasionally, if brilliantly, touches upon: friendship and female rivalry, girl-power independence and, most of all, the emotional challenges that arise when kids upon whom hopes and dreams have been pinned find themselves at the moment of impact with their own futures.” Powers also address the music and production, offering, “Producer Dann Huff, known for guiding some of country's most pop-wise artists (Faith Hill, Keith Urban, Hunter Hayes), highlights the interplay between Maddie & Tae's voices, while also honoring their professed main source of inspiration, the Dixie Chicks, in tracks that have plenty of twang and open space.” “It’s nice knowing we’re putting the banjo, the fiddle, the steel and the mandolin back out front,” Maddie says of their sound. “People forget how great Country music is, and we haven’t. It’s what we love. Dann Huff understood that, and helped us put those things front and center. We wouldn’t have had it any other way, but we’re so glad he really got it.” “We write songs about our lives, about what we’re feeling, and we’re lucky our co-writers trust our truth,” explains Tae. “Maddie and I have strong opinions, and we value things like friendship, sticking up for yourself and honest lessons. That’s not necessarily cool to some people, but it’s very real to us – and it’s nice seeing people respond to our songs.” Progressive music mag SPIN headlined their review: “Maddie & Tae Tell the Bros to Shut Up and Fish on START HERE” writing, “Comprised of radio-friendly pop-rock and Dixie Chicks-inspired mid-tempo ballads, START HERE speaks loudest with its small-scale anecdotes of teenage mishaps and first-time thrills.” Writer Jonathan Bernstein later acknowledging, “With their subtle feminism and down-to-earth humor, Maddie & Tae often feel like makeshift mentors, providing aspirational advice wrapped in country tropes.” Currently part of Dierks Bentley’s SOUNDS OF SUMMER TOUR, Maddie & Tae are gearing up for an insane lead up to their August 28 release. They will perform on TODAY as part of the Summer Concert Series on September 1 before kicking off their headlining tour beginning October 7 at New York’s Highline Ballroom.
