Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Maddy Jane, Lemon Tree Records/Sony Music Entertainment Australia 2020.
Not All Bad Or Good is the much anticipated debut album from Tasmanian Maddy Jane and it lives up to the hype and expectation.
Jane hails from the small community of Bruny Island and she’s already become a darling of Triple J and been included on the support card for major Australian tours by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Harry Styles, and Catfish and The Bottlemen.
I have already reviewed her wonderful 2018 EP Not Human At All and I stand by my prediction that she is a star on the rise.
This new album is a wonderful example of her great songwriting and indie-music street cred and it should cement her place as one of the go-to artists currently gracing the airwaves.
Jane’s songwriting has been extraordinary from the beginning but this new album shows that is developing increased depth.
Her songs are personal and cathartic but above all they tell a story and they’re important.
Jane has commented that her songwriting has always been a sort of self-therapy and if anything Not All Bad Or Good is even more confessional than Not Human At All, which was like eavesdropping on a therapy session.
The first single Perfection’s A Thing And You’re It is on high rotation on Triple J and has had over 57,000 streams worldwide since its release.
It’s an interesting song because the title is ironic.
It’s not really about an individual expression of perfection because as Jane states: “It’s not a love song, it’s sarcasm for; perfection’s not a thing and you can’t be it.”
Jane recorded the album at The Grove studio where she recorded her EP using Jackson Barclay once again as co-producer.
The overall theme of the album is about the ups and downs of life and the playing card motif of the cover artwork sums it up well.
As she says, “In a game of cards you play with what you get” and that sum up life well.
Maddy Jane is a real talent and I highly recommend this album.
