By Emily Peck
As our culture continues to embrace womanhood and as we transition out of “girl summer,” Columbus-based indie, singer-songwriter Madi Task in her new release, “Old Wives’ Tale,” captures the feelings of healing, forgiveness, and femininity.
The track, full of stereotypical phrases passed down from generations of women, uses these lessons to build a roadmap to healing heartbreak. The lyrical content in this track is the strong pillar of the song and focuses on the importance of learning from the adages of older generations of women to withstand and grow through heartbreak.
This is Task’s sophomore track released to major streaming platforms, with her debut track, “Quitter,” starting her career with an acoustic piano ballad. The debut presented Task’s talent to constantly deliver vocals akin to a rounded, drawn-out vowel sound. This quality led to Task likening her genre to “flannel-pop,” or pop influenced by the pop-punk genre. Listening, I found this specific vocal quality to be missing from “Old Wives Tale,” in lieu of a more falsetto belt, which, at times, can make it hard to understand the descriptive lyrics.
The production is noticeably more involved in “Old Wives’ Tale,” than in the previous release from Task. Elements such as the reverb introduce itself powerfully in the first verse and maintain throughout the song, which was eye-catching, but at times, drowned out the vocals and lacked dimension. But elements like the guitar riffs fit well within the track with the right amount of underground indie sound that is expected from up-and-coming artists today.
Overall, the message is that advice from generations of women helps one to heal and grow through a rough breakup, which is the focus and strongest element of the song. The song, and Task’s lyricism, have a keen sense of learning how to take comfort from the past, comfort from love, and how to hold love close, despite the heartache.
“Old Wives’ Tale,” is a nostalgic, sentimental, indie pop, “thank u, next,” song in how it communicates gratefulness for the journey that leads one towards growth. “Old Wives’ Tale,” by Madi Task is a song for the girls going through their healing era.
I would highly recommend you check out this Ohio local, up-and-comer, Madi Task, and her future projects and be sure to give “Old Wives’ Tale” a listen for yourself!