Album Review: Maisie Peters - 'The Good Witch'
Maisie Peters is enchanting on her dazzling new record The Good Witch.
“I’m on a one-way trip to take over the world” declares pop singer-songwriter Maisie Peters on her second record, and if she continues to put out music as good as this, she just may be.
Peters began singing when she was eight, joining a choir. She started writing songs at age nine and was a busker in Brighton when she was fifteen.
In 2017, she independently released the single Place We Were Made, and it became BBC Introducing’s song of the week. She went on to sign with Atlantic Records and released two EPs; Dressed Too Nice for a Jacket and It’s Your Bed, Babe, It’s Your Funeral, both of which were very successful. In summer 2021 she signed with Gingerbread Man Records, Ed Sheeran’s label, and her debut record You Signed Up For This arrived in August 2021.
The Good Witch follows in the footsteps of You Signed Up For This, but sees Peters experiment a little more with production, and her overall sound.
The title track that opens the album is a great set-up for what’s to come. “The calm before the storm comes rushing through, and it’s Armageddon” she delivers in the first verse. It’s an incredibly enjoyable, bouncy song, with lines that cut deep and catch you off-guard, which sums up Maisie’s music in a nutshell, really. The lyrics are introspective, and the outro is a fantastic instrumental dotted with snippets of voice notes.
Next up is Coming of Age, a perfect pop song that would be perfect to dance to, an anthem for summer. It’s very fast past, and is witty and sharp, almost like a retort. The chorus erupts out of absolutely nowhere and surprises the listener in the best way. “Why did it take me/Ages to see it?” she belts out.
The following track, Watch, is another fast song with some nice guitar work and some good old 2000s nostalgia amongst the production and structure. The song sees Peters addressing someone who has treated her poorly, and said person is doing great now, when she is not. “You’ve got every single thing you want/And I just watch”.
Body Better, the album’s lead single is next. Released in January, Peters described this as “one of the most honest songs she’s ever written” and you can definitely understand why upon listening. The production is strong and engaging, the lyrics are heart-breaking and vulnerable, easy to be overlooked due to the faster pace of the song. “I can’t help thinking that she’s got a better body, has she got a body better than mine?” Peters asks in the chorus. And, in typical fashion, the bridge is expertly put together.
Amongst these ‘sad bangers’, there are some songs that are sad ballads, such as Want You Back and Two Weeks Ago, featuring gorgeous piano work and lovely vocals, both of them cinematic and sparkling.
One of the highlights on the record is The Band And I, a stunning, heart-warming song that is a love letter to her band. It has echoes of Taylor Swift’s Long Live, in tone and guitar production, but is entirely Peters’ own. “It was the band and I on a twelve-bed bus/If we’re living the dream, I hope we never wake up” She declares. It’s glittering, emotional and full of so much energy, and you can really feel the love that went into it.
Songs You’re Just A Boy (And I’m Kinda The Man) and Lost The Breakup are sassy, witty, and enormously entertaining. Both fast-paced again and filled with great lyrics. “I’m the greatest love that you wasted” she delivers on the latter. Lost The Breakup is the second single and is a breakup anthem, perfect for anyone going through one at the moment, it’s a real feel-good track.
Wendy is a sad and slightly melancholic track. The titular Wendy refers to the one from Peter Pan. “Behind every lost boy, there’s always a Wendy” Peters sings with a sigh in her voice.
We move on to tracks Therapy and There It Goes next, both about the end of a relationship, but very different in tone. The former is about someone struggling and having to go to therapy, and the latter is almost like coming out of the other side and doing better.
The album close, History Of Man, tackles the subject of breakups and heartbreak in general. “I’m sure there was heartbreak inside the walls of Jericho” Peters tells us, over quiet synths, and gentle production.
A sophomore album that is just as strong, if not stronger, than her debut record, Maisie Peters cements herself in the indie-pop scene even further, with an album that is wonderfully written and produced beautifully.
Words by Lucy Skeet
