“MP3” is the latest full-length album by Madame Psychosis, an excellent Canadian group based in Toronto. It arrives as a follow-up to “Survivor” and a self-titled debut, two critically acclaimed full-length releases that you should also check out as soon as possible. Still, their latest effort delivers many innovations in songwriting, composing, arranging, and producing, showcasing the natural progression of an already incredible band. Lyrically, “MP3” explores love, emotions, relationships, friendships, mental health, various moods, situations, and circumstances. The album also explores socio-political themes that stuck upon mankind on a daily basis. It’s a highly relatable material that will unquestionably resonate with the broader auditorium. Soundwise, Madame Psychosis combines several different but complementary subgenres of rock music. Perhaps, alternative comes to mind first, but you’ll notice some of the finest properties borrowed from indie rock, indie pop, pop rock, soft rock, synthrock, synthwave, new wave, etc. These experienced musicians use all these elements as more than necessary enhancements, elevating this comprehensive collection of songs to new heights while simultaneously remaining loyal to the primary sonic direction. Therefore, these experimentations with many different but complementary subgenres resulted in a marvelous full-length album that will immediately appeal to even the pickiest music enthusiasts.
With the initial notes and beats, you’ll notice that Madame Psychosis invested heart and soul into this material. Each composition arrives with a perfect structure, garnered with many detailed segments, brilliant ideas, and marvelous instrumentation. Each vocal, sonic, and rhythmic maneuver has its place and purpose in this sonic equation, making it such a pleasant listening experience worth repeating over and over again. “MP3” commences with “I’ll Go,” a perfect, piano-driven overture that showcases just a glimpse of what you might expect from the remainder of the album. Adorned with marvelous piano theme, mesmerizing vocals, subtly distorted chord progressions, and minimal percussions, this short interlude effortlessly transcends into “Anywhere With You,” a beautiful composition that blends only the finest elements of alternative and indie rock. You’ll notice how beautiful vocal harmonies serve as a centerpiece, emphasizing all the segments and instrumentations while the impressive vocal range seamlessly balances low, mid, and high notes. The vocal performance commands attention and guides the listening apparatus from scratch to finish, making this track such a pleasant listening experience. In the meantime, the guitars deliver catchy, memorable, engaging themes, melodies, harmonies, chord progressions, and riffs while the keys spice things up and elevate everything on an entirely new level with tastefully assembled sonic maneuvers. The rhythm section propels the remainder of the orchestrations through cleverly assembled warm-sounding basslines and groovy rhythmic patterns. The entire band operates as an unstoppable machinery, delivering nothing but an impressive, harmonious, ethereal wall of sound.
“Lucky” is coming up next, delivering another dosage of expertly crafted alternative rock sound. Like “Anywhere With You,” this song continuously levitates between calm, soothing, relaxing, otherwordly moments and colossal, heavy, powerful segments. The band sounds divine in both cases, proving they’re experienced musicians whose skills, talent, and creativity shine from all possible sides. It’s a powerful alt-rock anthem and an unquestionable standout track that immediately grabs you by the collar and refuses to let go long after it ends. Madame Psychosis slows down the pace with “Hopeless,” a fascinating ballad that showcases a soulful, sincere, confident vocal performance. The way these vocal harmonies and arrangements provide the emotional depth and complexity over an already intricate song structure goes beyond comprehension. The way half-time beats, breaks, fills, and other percussive acrobatics work with equally impressive low-ends and marvelous guitar interplay only proves Madame Psychosis’s dedication to the craft. The band returns to energetic grooves and highly distorted guitar works with “Charlie’s Story,” a magnificent composition that resonates with a comprehensive collection of arpeggiated and regular chord progressions, heavy riffs, soothing melodies, harmonies, themes, and impressive leads. The rhythm section also shines here, as the experienced drummer delivers jaw-dropping, tastefully assembled, flawlessly performed rhythmic structures while the bass player brings warmness and depth to the track with complex, vividly hearable low-ends. The keys are solely responsible for a lush, ethereal, nearly cathartic atmosphere, with all those ear-appealing themes, melodies, accentuations, and ambiances lurking around in the mix. Of course, this song wouldn’t sound this good without another outstanding vocal performance, which elevates all these instrumentations with soulful, emotive, impressive harmonies.
“Concrete Streets” reflects on the importance of mental health. The song points out that instead of making a daily grind our top priority, we should prioritize spending more time with family and loved ones. Once again, the band delivers this important message with an entire barrage of marvelous instrumentations. Still, their knack for writing, composing, arranging, and producing meaningful and emotionally resonant songs is what makes this track such a standout. They balance between calm and powerful segments with precision and finesse while simultaneously keeping their orchestrations catchy, engaging, and memorable. “Foxtail” explores nearly the same themes as “Concrete Streets,” but in a slightly calmer, anthemic, and more melodic style. Madame Psychosis continues this epic sonic journey with “Revolution,” a slightly darker, but still harmonious and melodic garage rock track that explores the theme of frustration and calls listeners to take action. With its peaceful verses and heavy, powerful, aggressive, dynamic pre-choruses and choruses, it demonstrates the dynamic and creative range of this outstanding band. “Vulnerability” is another meaningful pop-rock ballad that incorporates more ethereal, arpeggiated chord progressions, impressive synths, intricate low-ends, and half-time rhythmic patterns. The band gradually builds the atmosphere by adding more layers of sound, without overwhelming the initial sonic direction. Their knack for composing never ceases to amaze, and “Vulnerability” is another impressive showcase of their creativity and talent. This incredible album closes with “Nightmares,” a calm alternative rock song with slight levitations into shoegaze and post-rock. The band keeps the ambiance as peaceful as possible during the verses, but all those complex orchestrations transform into the raging, unstoppable, harmonious sonic tide, tearing everything in the broader radius. It’s such an outstanding closure of such an impressive full-length.
Madame Psychosis released another masterpiece, fully stacked with many standout songs. Their experience, knowledge, skills, and talent are vividly hearable in all those brilliant ideas and impressive instrumentations, which lurk around throughout the entire album. From marvelous vocal harmonies, catchy guitar works, and hypnotic synths to intricate low-ends and dynamic drumming performances, Madame Psychosis vividly demonstrate their songwriting and composing abilities, positioning themselves as one of the finest alternative rock bands on the contemporary scene. “MP3” deserves your utmost attention and you should place it on your music radar as soon as possible. It’s available on all streaming platforms. Don’t miss it!
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