Madison McFerrin - Scorpio (LP)

The confident, fearless, and unapologetic woman you hear on SCORPIO was born from the ashes of heartbreak and a toxic relationship. After eight and a half years of fighting for their love, Madison's relationship with her then fiancé/manager had soured beyond repair, which meant she had to end a life partnership, dissolve a business relationship, and cancel a wedding. "We was 'posed to get married today/ instead I'm here, all alone/ in a home/ with no one to call my own/ got me wonderin' did I make a mistake in choosing who to/ say 'I do' to," Madison sings on the revelatory "I Don't". In the song, she conveys a feeling that's somewhere between sadness and the thrill of liberation. It's a chromatic, multi-textured moment whose conflicting emotions give the songwriting a depth of reality - it resonates because if you ever loved and lost you've felt this way. There are moments like this throughout SCORPIO. For Madison, love - specifically self-love - is a teacher, a revealer of truths. It's this album's inspiration and, ultimately, her savior. "I went through what I went through to emerge on the other side of it as a better person and to find love," she confides. I truly believe that I went through it because I've created art that's going to change my life." SCORPIO is what it sounds like when the stars align.