Madilynn Treasure – Born With Wings

Madilynn Treasure – Born With Wings – EP Review

Here’s a fun fact for you – Madilynn Treasure once played the legendary Bluebird Café at the young age of only nine years-old, which would technically make her the youngest performer to take the stage by an impressive count of five years.  Any of you out there know who held the previous record?  It’s someone you might have heard of before…I think her name is Taylor Swift?  Am I pronouncing that correctly?  You get the point – that’s good company for Madilynn to be keeping…and as the old saying goes, if you can make it on the stage at the Bluebird, chances are you’ve probably got a career waiting for you.  Alright, full disclosure, I have no idea if anyone actually says that, but from it’s true as far as I’ve ever been able to tell.  Take Madilynn for instance, who is now into double digits as an eleven year-old artist, and has just released her official debut EP, Born With Wings, after playing all kinds of shows around Nashville.

So…I know what you regular readers are thinking – how critical am I going to be of an eleven year-old?  Well…honestly, that’s a fair question.  I’ll tell you what I’m not here to do, and that’s crush the dreams of the youth who will be the future of music ahead…objectively speaking, I’m here to encourage them.  That being said, Madilynn’s already been participating in a grown-up world long before I got ahold of a copy of Born With Wings, so it’s really somewhat fair to address any concerns that might come up along the way too, right?  Plus, when you’re sincerely looking to make music for a lifetime, I’m a firm believer that criticism makes you stronger, and that all art made with heart can be defended if it needs to be.  We’ll see how it goes of course…I don’t just make bad things up for the sake of having something to talk about…but as I’ve done from day one, if I’ve got something to say, I’m always going to tell you like it is.

I think one of my own main questions before I pushed play, was whether or not eleven year-old Madilynn was going to be able to reach me, your forty-five year-old grizzly music-reviewer.  Could that really be possible?  I mean, if Treasure is going to go on to dominate the world one day, she’s gotta convince at least a few of us forty-five year-old guys and a bunch of people even older than me in order to reach the very top, right?  Well…lemme tell ya folks…”I’m here to tell you,” really, really good things!  As I listened to the opening track “Girls Can Like Blue,” I was beaming.  Not just because I happen to agree with Madilynn’s personal philosophy on what colors she can like, but because, she sounds SO FREAKIN’ GOOD, that it’s one of those rare times where I felt like what I was hearing lived up to all the hype in what I’d read about Treasure prior to listening.  Believe me when I tell ya, press releases and details don’t always add up when you eventually hear an artist or band’s music – but this time they did.  Madilynn’s got an exceptional voice, and she’s already an incredible songwriter.  To hear a line like “’cause I know I look good in blue, and I don’t care about you – so stay mad” and the bulletproof hook she’s created in singing that moment…for real y’all…it’s the kind of insightful moment in listening to a young artist that points directly to a very bright future ahead.  It’s the kind of thing I wish I could almost explain better to you, but I’m confident you’ll know what I mean when you listen to “Girls Can Like Blue” for yourself.  The kind of moment we all get to in a song where you know for a fact, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that an artist like Madilynn Treasure has that X-factor that the rest simply don’t have.  The whole song is complete confirmation that she’s truly something special…what a gift for melody she has!

I remember this feeling.  It was way back in 2018 that I probably had it last.  I was sitting here, listening to another young female artist, who incidentally was also spending a large amount of time in Nashville refining her craft, and I couldn’t help but practically smile & laugh while I was listening to her music.  Not because it was funny – no…it was because the incredible future ahead of her was SO OBVIOUS that it basically made me giddy.  That remarkable woman’s name is Annie DiRusso, who was an unknown artist at the time, but in this past year alone, has traveled to several different countries and continents in support of her debut album Super Pedestrian.  She’s played been featured on late night shows like Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel, played all kinds of festivals, collaborated and shared stages with some amazing artists, and established her name permanently in the industry by this point I’d reckon.  As I listened to “Nashville Dream” and how RIDICULOUSLY good Madilynn sounds on this second track, I got that same feeling I had back when I was first listening to Annie’s music.  You get lost in thinking about what an amazing life this eleven year-old lady is going to experience, and you marvel over the realization that if Treasure is THIS good already, that she’s going to go on to absolutely dazzle the world several times over in a whole variety of ways.  All the right instincts are there.  The talent is already outstanding.  No matter how good or great you think she already is, there’s zero doubt that she’ll go on to be even better than she is right now…and it’s genuinely staggering to think about.  Listening to her sing the main hooks of “Nashville Dream” is something else y’all.  The quality of the chorus is stunning…I love the way she sings it, and I love the vocal melody she’s created.  Long before you get there, she’s already given you a remarkable performance in the verses that have a ton of weight to them…thought-provoking lyrics that are far beyond her years, but well within the realm of her own wisdom and perspective.  She’s got the kind of confidence that most artists and bands would kill to have one day, and you can hear that in the fearless way she’ll go after the biggest notes on “Nashville Dream.”  There’s personality, there’s real character, there’s an innovative approach to melody that works brilliantly, and there’s a serious tone in her voice that is fully backed up by her words – “don’t you dare underestimate me.”  I know that I won’t!

Here we are…where the proverbial rubber meets the road…”Born With Wings.”  To an extent, I had an inkling of what I’d probably end up saying about this song just by looking at the title, or at the very least, I acknowledged that young Madilynn was about to box me into a corner with this particular song.  On the one hand, she’s got another excellent song with her title-track…and I could/probably should just leave it at that – but I also respect Treasure’s capacity to process all kinds of information as an artist.  So all I’m going to say, is that there is rarely a week that goes by here on these pages of ours where I don’t end up listening to someone or something ‘flying’ somewhere without wings and such.  This is where, in my opinion, you have to continue to advise the future of tomorrow that the more they can avoid the clichés of today, the further they’ll have the opportunity to go.  Because Nashville will teach you an amazing amount of things, but it seems to neglect preserving uniqueness as much as it really should, at least from my perspective.  I can assure you, that the last thing you wanna do is write about the same things that so many others do, generally because it can be a recipe to fall right into the sea of sameness never to return if you’re not too careful.  Where I’m willing to give Madilynn a pass in the case of “Born With Wings” is certainly based largely through her performance and how incredible she sounds, but also for the fact that she has brought her own authentic story into this track in a way that gives the metaphor some genuine context.  As in, if anyone out there understands the feeling of flying with her two feet still on the ground, it’s Madilynn, who has already been through a whole lot after being born with a congenital heart defect that kept her in the hospital for the first six months of her life and put her through at least a couple surgeries since then.  I know far too much about that life with a niece of my own having gone through very similar struggles, but at the same time, I’ve already seen so much of the true grit and determination from these young ladies like these that I can’t help but be inspired by them.  “Born With Wings” is a great song by any measure…and when Madilynn sings the line of her title within the song, you believe that she really has been “Born With Wings” after all.  I suppose that’s the difference y’all…most of the time, when I hear about someone or something flying in a song, I feel that immediate disconnect of a lazy metaphor…but Treasure has sincerely made the feeling believable.  You feel what she’s feeling when you’re listening to “Born With Wings,” and it’s magical to experience that.  Honestly, this is a noteworthy performance that has Madilynn sounding at her best, and it’s a song that’ll go on to prove to be one of the most universally loved in her early catalog by fans from all around the world I’m sure.

You’ll understand what a strange position it is to review such a young artist’s work when you get to a song like “Ride Or Die.”  Because here I am, sitting here listening, thinking to myself that we’ve likely gotten to the track I’m least sure about by comparison to the sparkling quality and outstanding content we’ve experienced so far on the record…I mean…objectively speaking, “Ride Or Die” is probably a distant fourth place in comparison to how strongly I feel towards the first three songs.  That being said, that’s exactly what triggers the strangeness of this situation!  At eleven years-old…c’mon…ANY of us would have killed to be able to write or perform a song with this remarkable level of proficiency and genuine talent!  At eleven years-old, I would have settled for being able to hold down three chords, let alone have put out my own debut EP like Madilynn has done.  So don’t get it twisted, she’s an incredible artist already, to the point where she’s really only competing against herself here.  “Ride Or Die” would be an A-side on most albums, but perhaps here amongst all the potential & promise we can all hear in Treasure’s voice & songwriting, we know it slightly pales by comparison.  Even that’s debatable, don’t get me wrong…there are such gripping hooks threaded into the melody of “Ride Or Die,” that I’d put them up there with the best of the best that you’ll find on the whole recording.  As a song overall, I guess it’s a little less balanced in terms of its main strengths if I’m putting it right under the microscope, but as I’ve said many times here on these pages of ours, the right moment or part in a song can often be enough to bring the people onboard for the entire thing.  The main hooks of “Ride Or Die” are going to be what steals the show when it comes to this particular tune for sure, but let’s not lose sight of how undeniably amazing it is for Madilynn Treasure to be this far along with her music at the age of eleven.  To be even more fair, “Ride Or Die” felt like the song that continually grew the most on me spin after spin as I listened & made my way through her EP over the past week.

If you’re really listening to the words you’ll find throughout Born With Wings, you’ll realize that they not only deal with a lot of Treasure’s own personal story, but expand even further to be relatable & relevant to everyone listening in a very empowering way.  “To Be Weird” is as stellar of an example as any could be…and I suppose this was that point I was making earlier on about finding a way around drowning in the sea of sameness like so many great artists have done over time.  To avoid that, is to embrace all that makes you unique…it’s “To Be Weird” and to be proud of that weirdness, knowing that it’s every bit of what helps to set you apart from anyone else out there.  To write something with this kind of grounded perspective at the age of eleven years-old…I mean c’mon y’all…that’s amazing.  Any of us woud be lucky to have the incredibly insightful way of looking at the world that Madilynn has at whatever age we’re at NOW, never mind at eleven years of age.  Treasure is a born leader, and has all the hallmarks of a truly generational talent in the making.  Like, if you could buy stock in an artist like this, you would, because Madilynn is about as much of a sure thing as you’ve ever heard, and if she continues to make music her main priority & continues to put the work in, I think her success is actually quite the forgone conclusion.  So to be clear, while I might still be more partial to the opening three tracks on her debut EP, I wouldn’t confuse that with anything close to feeling let down about anything I’ve heard – I’m nothing but impressed, truly.  “To Be Weird” is a wonderful song when it comes right down to it, not just for how it sounds, but even more-so for what it symbolizes.  This is the Madilynn that I hope she never forgets.  You go through an insane amount of changes along the way in the life of an artist, but the more you can stay connected to what makes you special & unique, the more fulfilling you’re likely to find that life to be.  “It’s beautiful to be weird,” as Madilynn will tell you herself, and I couldn’t possibly agree more.

For the most part, Treasure’s style of Country-Pop has leaned more towards the Pop side of that equation throughout her new EP, but in the finale, she makes sure to bend things a lot more towards the Country side with a cover of Dolly Parton’s iconic classic, “Jolene.”  And you know something?  I’m tossed up about its inclusion.  It’s so very tough to assess the youngest artists out there, like I’ve been tellin’ ya from the get-go.  On the one hand, you’ve got what’s essentially a flawless cover that speaks very strongly on behalf of what Madilynn is capable of – so let’s get that outta the way right off the bat – her cover of “Jolene,” is probably better than half of the versions you’ve heard by a country mile, pun intended.  What gives me pause…what I feel like I’m considering when I’m listening to it…is just how many hundreds of covers of this song already exist – and the fact that having this song appear after the empowering messages that “To Be Weird” put forth, seemed to almost take this last track in the opposite direction of the message she was just singing to us about in the song before, make sense?  I would only want Treasure to continue “To Be Weird” at full speed…because she’s got me believe that that is who she truly is.  In covering “Jolene,” I recognize that she’s paying homage to one of the greats – but at the same time, this is where I get wary of the advice that tends to be given by record execs and people that might assume they know better than Treasure’s own instincts, you know what I mean?  I guess what I’m saying is that while I appreciate a great cover of “Jolene” as much as the next person probably does, the value in recycling a song like this that has been done so many times actually pales in comparison to what the impact of her original work has made on a record like this.  If that makes me the bad guy for saying that, I’m more than willing to be the villain…because I think the advice is as sound as it could possibly be.  The more the world gets to hear Madilynn Treasure for all that makes her special as an individual and as an artist, the more I think she’ll benefit from that, continue to grow & evolve in her craft, and expand her fan-base rapidly as a result.  If I’m being truthful, while singing “Jolene” surely suggests that Madilynn can connect with material that’s not even her own, I don’t know that I see the benefits of covering such a well-known song as much as I’ve heard through her own originals.  Am I complaining?  Absolutely not, don’t get it twisted…more Madilynn Treasure, in any form, whether it’s an original or a cover, is something I’m always going to be interested in hearing from this day forward – all I’m saying is that she has all the right instincts on how to approach making music already, and the more that Treasure leads the way organically, the more opportunity she’ll have to make the impact on the hearts & minds tuning in from around the world.  She knows that the route to success and longevity in the music business is achieved by being unafraid to be her true self and let the world see & hear that.  A cover of “Jolene” is never going to be something I don’t wanna listen to – it’s a great song, always has been and always will be – but I’d be lying to you by omission if I didn’t say it was the original work from Madilynn Treasure that continually had me the most impressed when it came to her Born With Wings EP.  No matter how you slice it though, she’s incredible through and through, and the future is looking & sounding mighty bright for this young Treasure – keep her on your radar, and certainly on your playlists.

Find out more about Madilynn Treasure from the official pages below!

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558580826431

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/madilynntreasure

TikTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@madilynn.treasure

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@madilynntreasure

Distrokid:  https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/madilynntreasure/born-with-wings-2

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