Hello everyone, did you miss me?
I certainly did!
I know it’s a looooong time since last time but trust me I’ll my best to be as consistent as possible.
But let’s go back.
I know it may been exactly 2 months since Madison released her latest album but I’m finally here to take a look inside it through different lenses.
So with no further do, I’m gonna break down each track from 2 different perspectives: as a music blogger and as from a production (as a music technology students).
1st track: locket theme ꗃ
We kick off with the theme of the album which introduces us musically to the sonic palette of the rest of the album.
Vulnerable, intimate, restrained
The lyrics provide a vulnerable background that prepares us and give us context for the rest of the tracks.
In the chorus she basically admits to herself that she needs to let go of the memories that’s holding her back symbolizing it as a necklace and locket, thus the name of the era.
From a producer’s perspective the intro is subtle but interesting. It contains reversed audio elements that give the track a dreamlike quality and makes the listener “freeze” in time. Also there’s a gating efx (meaning a synth oscillator is being turned on/off) creating this specific sound.
There vocal stacks providing a richer texture in her voice.
Also I’d like to mention something that we hear here and will continue to hear throughout the album.
I’m talking about the use of reverb and delay in her voice.
However Madison uses this differently through her songs, it’s more noticeable and often is part of the rhythm and melody.
Vocally, she mainly relies on reverb combined with noticeable pre-delay.
And I’m gonna explain it to you as if you wanna use it in your own songs!
You might assume you need two separate plugins, one for reverb and one for delay. But there’s a setting inside the reverb itself, called pre-delay time. By adjusting it, you create separation between the dry vocal and the reverb tail.So to gives us this spacious and timeless efx she just uses these 2 settings.
Isn’t that crazy?
2nd track: yes baby ᯓ𝄞 ˎˊ˗
Continuing to the next track and 1st song of the album is “yes baby”
It moves into EDM / dance-pop territory, similar universe as Make You Mine, but with a darker, more controlled edge.
Producer’s
V1
The song is built upon a loop of a arpeggiated synth. Its tone is dark and distinctly electronic, fitting in the song sexy aesthetic.
Basically the 1st verse is minimal only containing the loop and her vocals.
And even here, her vocals are spatially processed so they never feel dry or flat.
Chorus
As the chorus enters she repeats the same vocal line over and over again “yes baby”.
And my guess?
This is a single take and it’s just copied and pasted all over it.
The repetition becomes the hook itself.
There’s layered backing vocals to support that and this is also where drums and bass are introduced
Notice how she didn’t used any drums in verse and pre-chorus? That’s one is a classic arrangement technique to make the chorus feel more energetic and feel like it’s expanding.
The song continues with the same philosophy a nothing significant continues.
3rd track: angels wings 🪽️⋆˚࿔
The 3rd track of the album is one of the fandoms most adored and favorite. The aesthetic, the vibes and the even the title fells on brand and 2010s coded.
I love how Madison and her team make it sound so “girly” and as we’ll see later each choice contributes to that.
Overall it’s a lively, girly song that kisses goodbye to a loser ex.
Production
Intro
The intro begins with looped plucked synths and a compressed vocal texture that almost gives her voice a youthful, like childlike tone.
There’s a simple drum beat underneath, supported by subtle synth details that fill the space without overwhelming it.
Pre-C
Here something subtle but smart happens. For the first two lines, the same drum pattern continues. Then suddenly, the drum beat drop out, and a bassline takes over.
This creates a shift in the energy and feels like the song pauses to breathe before stepping into the chorus.
Chorus
The chorus has the same synth loop from the intro, now supported by drums and bass.
It doesn’t dramatically transform but the familiarity makes it feel cohesive rather than explosive.
Bridge
I genuinely LOVE the bridge.
The vocal melody here feels romantic and dreamy, as the emotional tension peaks. Her use of autotune here feels especially intentional.
When she sings: “You know what I’ll do, I know how to move – what I need to do…”
She is self-aware of what she needs to do.
So when she reaches “I do, I do, a new attitude”, something shifts.
The vocal texture becomes more polished, almost glass-like.
The production here supports her emotional transformation and that’s no accident or random.
Outro
I also like the outro. I certainly did not excepted this and it changed the vibe almost immediately.
After listening closely (and after fans pointed it out), you can hear that the outro contains the reversed melody of the next track, “For the Night.” You can even catch hints of guitar and the line, “I don’t wanna be like this forever.”
4th track: for the night ࣪ ִֶָ☾.☁️
idk about you guys but as soon as the music hit my ears I knew it was gonna be my favourite. It’s not about a particular point but it’s about the song as a whole.
The guitar, the soft and vulnerable instrumentation, her vocals and the lyrics, all work together in a way that feels emotionally complete.
Lets focus first on the lyrics on the lyrics
I have to say that they feel deeply vulnerable, not performative, not exaggerated, but emotionally exposed. And they aren’t just sad but they admit weakness.
If I were honest with you idk if I would have the “strength” to admit such feelings in a song.
One line that stood out in particular is “You can take advantage of my weakness”, because I resonate with it a lot.
And it feels so powerful, because they dont try to protect the listener.
They admit fragility.
Musically, everything feels sealed together in a balanced and cohesive way.
Also, the Spotify visual is on another level.
The guitar carries the emotional tone from the very beginning. There’s a slightl reminder of a soft Bossa nova influence in the rhythm, which reminded me of Billie Eilish’s songs “Happier Than Ever”.
Production
Did you notice how the drums enter later rather than immediately? That delayed rhythm makes the song feel like it’s gradually unfolding instead of exploding.
In the chorus, there’s a subtle synth layer appears, adding a slight emotional depth without overpowering the arrangement.
Later in verse 2 the bass is introduced, quietly.
The bridge is also very nice.
A bell-like synth texture (likely a sine-based tone) adds a delicate shimmer, reinforcing the vulnerability rather than shifting the energy dramatically.
P.s. Did you know that “for the night” is actually the oldest song on the album?
The song was actually written before Make You Mine and is the oldest track on the album.
5th track: bad enough 💌*:･
After listening to this track multiple times, one detail really stood out to me.
There’s a subtle but powerful melodic shift when the line moves from “I know that it seems easy… needs me” into the more naturally spoken phrase “my friends all say my standards are too low.”
That transition is everything.
The phrasing becomes more spoken, almost like she’s stepping out of melody and into honesty. And what makes it even stronger is that the same technique appears again in verse two with the line “my friends say things that I already know.”
Keeping the same phrasing structure for just those two moments emphasizes on the role of her friends.
Production
the track is built around a loop-based synth foundation with subtle oscillator-style texture changes. The sound design remains consistent with the rest of the album, maintaining that spacious, slightly processed vocal atmosphere. Her voice has the same efx as in the other tracks.
Drums are introduced later, primarily in the chorus, and become more noticeable in verse two.
P.s. part of why I delayed this article was that whenever I came back to finish writing it I listened to that song and then my mind was traveling to other songs and I couldn’t stop it.
6th track track: healthy habits ‧₊˚🖇️✩
Structurally, this track is quite minimal , but that’s exactly what makes it effective.
Production
The song opens with a looped arpeggiated synth that carries most of the harmonic movement.
V1
The arrangement stays restrained, allowing her voice to sit at the center of the mix.
Pre-chorus
The vocal processing becomes more noticeable. There’s a generous use of reverb combined with pre-delay, which gives the vocal that floating and spacious texture we’ve heard throughout the album. The arpeggiated synth continues underneath.
Chorus
Expands mostly through backing vocals rather than heavy instrumental layering.
The track grows through vocal density.
V2
the bass finally enters
Again, the structure is simple, but the way everything is placed feels intentional and carefully balanced. After For the Night and You’re Still Everything, this stands as one of my personal favorites.
What I really appreciate is how much of the track is built around just her voice and that repeating arpeggiated loop. There’s space.
It’s a smart choice to let the backing vocals function as a main melodic element rather than just support. Instead of sitting quietly in the background, they actively shape the emotional texture of the song.
At the very end, if you listen closely, you can hear a noise-based texture that continues into the next track. It’s a smooth transition detail that reinforces the album’s continuity and makes the listening experience feel cohesive rather than segmented.
7th track: you’re still everything ˚˖𓍢ִ໋ 𐚁°
This is my second favorite track on the album. The vocal melody is beautiful, and there’s something slightly vintage in its emotional tone — not in a retro production sense, but in the way she carries the heartbreak.
Vocally this track stands out immediately. The heavy autotune isn’t corrective, it’s expressive.
The demo was recorded with heavy autotune… on purpose. Madison couldn’t stop crying when she was singing this especially the intro so she asked for hard autotune during the demo simply so she could get through recording the song without breaking down.
And when it came later to record it clean later, it felt wrong—the raw, processed sound had become part of the song’s identity.
So she started imagining herself as a sad robot singing through heartbreak, which ultimately defined the song’s emotional tone and production.
Production
Intro
The track opens with a distorted looped synth texture, slightly noisy and fragile.
Pre-Chorus
Some light bass enters subtly, without changing the mood drastically .
Chorus
The drums are extremely restrained, they’re present, but almost hard to distinguish. Instead of driving the rhythm, they sit in the background.
A second synth layer, glassy, possibly bell-like , adds shimmer and an emotional lift to the top end without overpowering the vocal.
V2
A gating fx appears, creating that fade in and out texture, accompanied by light glitch-style effects. These small production details reinforce the emotional instability of the lyrics without becoming distracting.
Post-Chorus
expands slightly through harmonies rather than instrumentation, again choosing layering over impact.
Emotionally, this track reminds me of For the Night in its lyrical vulnerability. Both songs lean into emotional honesty without dramatic explosion. They resonate whether you’ve experienced that kind of heartbreak directly or not — because the fragility feels real.
Honestly I’d love to see a video clip of that song and for some reason this whole aesthetic reminds me of WandaVision.
If you’ve seen it you’ll know what I’m talking about.
8th track: bittersweet 🩹🎧✧˖°.
Bittersweet is the only track of this album that Madison Beer and her producer One Love have share the production process on the internet.
This makes the song even more interesting because we’re able to see how intentional each production choice was.
Im gonna attach you the link to look it up and I won’t be writing on the production perspective, only that we see how each small detail adds up to the song overall.
Bittersweet breakdown
Fun fact: the title was picked by a fan
I love how this song passes past the first stages of break up.
It a middle and maybe middle stage where you choose to live your life and you’re finally happy about it but something’s holding you back.
It’s not a bad thing because you ahckownlege that you still have feelings about it but still choose to move on.
It adds up perfectly next to previous track, and Madison shows us how a breakup goes through.
9th track: complexity 𐔌 𐦯
The track opens with a loop-based synth whose bitcrushed, low-resolution texture evokes early video game sound design. That slightly digital, almost pixelated quality gives the song a artificial edge right from the start.
I really appreciate the use of a low cello in the first verse. It doesn’t function as a melodic or rhythmic element but more like emotional weight. It sits underneath the track, grounding it without drawing attention to itself.
The chorus is structurally simple, but what stands out more to me is the second verse, where subtle glitch-style effects are applied to her vocal.
Personally, this isn’t one of my favorite songs on the album. But even if it doesn’t resonate with me emotionally as strongly as others, I can still appreciate the production choices and how they contribute to the album’s sonic diversity.
10th track: make you mine જ⁀➴ ♡
We’re finalyyyy here!
Make you mine is one of my favourite songs of hers and I love everything about it!
The dance element and the vocal melody itself.
It’s such a sexy and confident song that it would definetly want an acoustic version of it!
p.s. its in my plans to make a cover of this song in a acoustic version so follow up stay tuned !
What makes this song particularly interesting is its structure. It begins with the chorus — not the verse. The arrangement follows this order:
Chorus → Verse 1 → Refrain → Pre-Chorus → Chorus → Post-Chorus → Verse 2 → Refrain → Pre-Chorus → Chorus → Post-Chorus.
Starting with the chorus immediately anchors the listener emotionally. Instead of building toward the hook, the song builds around it.
You may have seen again the word post chorus and refrain again, but in this article and I’m gonna give you a small explanation of what they are when we get there!
Production
Chorus
The song begins with the chorus, with Madison only singing the vocal melody, with no background at all.
As you can hear it repeats some words and that’s simply copy paste of the same audio track.
Reverb with noticeable pre-delay build momentum and space before the instrumental fully develops. Shortly after, the bassline enters, grounding the vocal.
V1
Drums are introduced here (kick and clap), along with subtle synth accents. The bass continues underneath.
Once again, the vocal spatial treatment, with pre-delay plays a major role in shaping the song’s rhythmic feel.
Refrain** ( “Closer I get … It’s why)
Since we came all the way way here I’m gonna explain whats the difference between a refrain and a chorus, since are often used interchangeably
According to wiki, 1 the chorus is the main part that contains the hook and the main idea of the song or music.
A Refrain is a repetitive phrases or lines across the entire song that while serves the same function as the chorus but it’s shorter and in separate sections.
So here the refrain (close I get… its why) its repeated 2 times across the song, its short and its between verse and pre chorus .
Now some might argue why couldn’t this be a pre-chorus?
Because first all its static , it doesn’t have a rising melody (the vocal melody stays the same),it doesn’t expand lyrically and it doesn’t serves as something that launching directly to chorus.
Musically we get the feeling of moving because on the drum we added hi-hats and a loop synth.
Pre-C
The first half widens the vocal space through increased reverb and pre-delay. The synth loop continues underneath. In the second half, drums return, subtly increasing energy before the chorus.
Chorus
Full drums (kick and clap/snare) return, along with the synth introduced earlier. The hook remains repetition-driven rather than melodically complex.
Post-chorus
A post chorus has a similar chorus but is distinguishable in close analysis.
Generally it keeps the same momentum.
In this case the music changes.
The drums stay the same but the synth changes and it’s being used the same way as in pre-chorus.
Vocal stacks add additional width here.
V2
Drums and synth loop continue, maintaining structural consistency.
The song relies on arrangement layering rather than dramatic shifts.
The rest of the song remains the same.
I can’t wait to see her perfoming this in Spain🥹
11th track: nothing at all 𓏲ּ𝄢
“Nothing At All” feels like a natural closing choice for the album. It leans fully into the ballad space, bringing the project back to its emotional core: vulnerability and quiet reflection.
Instead of ending on a high-energy note, it chooses softness and closure.
V1
The first verse is built around a simple piano motif, with her vocal placed clearly at the center. The familiar reverb and noticeable pre-delay return here, creating that spacious but intimate vocal tone we’ve heard throughout the album.
Chorus
In the chorus, a looped synth layer joins the piano, expanding the sound slightly while maintaining restraint.
V2
Introduced an arpeggiated synth loop beneath the piano, adding gentle motion without changing the emotional weight of the song.
Chorus 2
The layering here increases slightly through backing vocals, but the track never becomes heavy. It stays controlled.
Post-C
Here some reversed audio elements reappear, echoing earlier production choices in the album and subtly tying the ending back to the beginning.
As a final track, it reinforces the album’s identity: space over excess, emotion over spectacle, restraint over explosion.