I’ve always tended to listen to male country artists rather than females. 

The song “I Don’t Need To Know” by Maddie & Tae has been the centerpiece of my country playlist for quite some time and immediately sparked my interest in listening to more songs on their new album The Way It Feels. 

However, I have recently been trying to expand my horizons within the country genre and find new songs that might interest me. Oftentimes I feel that most people are too quick to judge country music because they feel they can’t relate to it as much, but they shouldn’t feel that way because it can be good to connect with.

Listening to country music is my therapy. 

Country duo Maddie & Tae released a sophisticated album, The Way It Feels. This album is emotionally relatable in ways connecting to love, loss, and reclamation—what most teenagers could correlate to. Like others, most country songs hold this theme of love and loss, which can not only relate to teens but adults as well.

The album begins with the song “Water In His Wine Glass” that starts with a soft guitar tempo and quickly transitions into Maddie & Tae’s voices and lyrics of uncertainty. Throughout the song, they give feeling to the trials and tribulations of relationships such as losing faith and needing a break. Maddie & Tae voice that there is already a rift between them by vocalizing that they want to “Bring the man he used to be back” through reciting these lyrics.

Even though the following song “Write A Book” did not resemble “Water In His Wine Glass,” it still clasped a divergent view and meaning behind it by having a more sanguine beginning—it vocalized the pure, saccharine, pleasing side of love. Maddie & Tae say that this man that is being sung about is so conscientious at love that he could write a book on it because they believe that not all guys are as admirable, not as able to show their love.

Although these two songs are very dissimilar, both did a worthy job of conveying two opposing sides of love.

The next song in the album, “Drunk Or Lonely,” brings a sorrowful, genuine feeling to the album; its slow rhythm is played on the guitar and gives the song a leisurely experience. Like many of their other songs, “Drunk Or Lonely” focuses on the hardships of not going back to the same relationship just because the other side finds it convenient for them. Although they both struggle to recognize the differences of loneliness, they comprehend that it will always result in how it used to be, and they slowly but surely learn that they’re worthy of more. 

This piece offers the listeners a better interpretation of love that only appears when suitable for the other side. 

Yet the last song on the album is the most relatable. “My Man” expresses the adequate features of a man and love in a relationship. While the guitar is the main instrument utilized, it starts with a funky, country tempo and continues that pattern throughout the rest of the song. 

As the song progresses, the beat registers with the words, making it relaxing. Maddie & Tae convey that this song is not about leaving or abandoning someone in a relationship but rather expressing that the love they have with their significant other is so idolized that they can’t find anything wrong. This shows a healthy connection between both sides of the relationship and the feelings that Maddie & Tae present are feelings that many people of all ages can relate to. 

Throughout this album, there happens to be a pattern. While one song is slow-moving and regretful, the next is carefree and lighthearted; It shows examples of an unforgivable relationship. This theme is ordinary yet essential for a tangled-love playlist. 

The Way It Feels is unquestionably a new style of music for me, but it’s something I will ignore no longer; Maddie & Tae seem to put their twist on their tracks, giving the album more of a pop-country vibe, a vibe that I cannot complain about.