florescence first listen thoughts :)
i've been a maisie fan since dressed too nice for a jacket days, so i do believe i have quite a clear and well-formed understanding of maisie's artistry, which is purely from the perspective of a listener and a music lover as well.
i have deliberately avoided all the pre-release singles and immediately scrolled whenever i see maisie online doing promo for the album. i only had an idea that the album would probably sound folky, stripped back, and acoustic when the album (finally) got announced. and mind you, i am a BIG FAN of taylor swift, kacey musgraves, kelsea ballerini, gracie abrams, noah kahan, and phoebe bridgers, so i immediately knew that 'florescence' was going to be right up my alley.
so, it absolutely pains me to say this but 'florescence' just didn't do it for me.
of course, maisie's lyricism is still the most achingly beautiful thing about this album (as it always has been even for past projects). i would say that her writing has largely matured and improved to capture emotions and paint pictures more precisely, and that's rich coming from me as probably the biggest 'the good witch' defender out there.
but, my biggest qualm about this album is maisie's MELODIC INCLINATIONS. i am no expert when it comes to music theory and production, so i may not know what i am actually talking about. but, from a listening perspective, there were melodies in many songs (even those that i liked overall) that just did not make sense or felt jarring, which took me out of it more often than not. and for an album so sonically stripped back as this one, melodies are either going to hit or miss, and for the most part, it was a miss for me. and it actually disappointed me more because i saw alysa vanderheym (a kelsea ballerini co-writer), ian fitchuk (kacey musgraves's collaborator and producer), and THEE marcus mumfort on this album's credits.
although, there were still some highs on this album. speaking of kacey musgraves, 'girl's just flying' reminded me so much of kacey's 'loneliest girl' from her most recent album, which is a song i absolutely love and have on repeat. 'you you you' was definitely a highlight for me. just so clever and relatable! and i am just so happy to hear more love songs from maisie and know that she is in a much healthier and happier place now given the material!
the album has so much potential to grow on me i just feel it deep in my bones. remember that this is just my honest assessment of the album on first listen!
CONGRATULATIONS AND LOVE LOTS TO MAISIE ON HER THIRD ALBUM! SO EXCITED FOR MORE MUSIC IN THE YEARS TO COME! 🌸🤍