Maddy Storm is on a mission to break the mainstream without following the traditional trajectory of a pop artist. The 24-year-old singer, songwriter, and producer recently turned down the opportunity to work with a major publishing company and has now decided to write, record and release all her own music independently. Maddy is also particularly keen to contribute to women’s representation in music production which at the moment, as highlighted in our review of Dream Wife’s newest album, is a large-scale problem across the music industry.
Maddy’s sophomore release comes in the form “Surrealist Dinner Party,” following on from her debut “Dizzying Heights” released earlier this year which received support from the likes of the BBC in the UK. Although COVID-19 got in the way of her initial plans for this year, Maddy is keen to get the ball rolling with her latest single in preparation for a host of releases next year that are already in the bank.
“Surrealist Dinner Party” was inspired by the pioneering Spanish artist Salvador Dali, based around the concept of a ‘dream ball’ hosted by the artist where guests were invited to dress as their most recurrent dream. Surrealism is inherent within the range of lyrical themes explored in varying sections of the track: self-reflective and introspective themes are explored in both the verse and bridge sections before the chorus introduces a more provocative aura: “Surrealist dinner party / I can’t control my own body / let me believe that you want me / I’m sorry… hardly.”
Texturally, Maddy’s talent as a producer is evident from the offset. Keen to experiment in her DIY home studio, what sounds like an electric guitar providing the main riff is actually Maddy singing into her Apple earphones filtered through distortion and a myriad of other effects. Being so seamless throughout, it’s hard to believe that this track was made in Maddy’s home and this testifies that big-budget, fancy studios are no longer essential to create large sounding pop music.
Maddy’s Instagram bio proclaims that she creates “over-the-top pop,” and with “Surrealist Dinner Party,” she offers a colorful, textural, and persuasively catchy pop tune, indicating that she’s on the cusp of big things next year.
“Surrealist Dinner Party” will be released on all major streaming platforms on September 4th.