Toronto-born, New York City-based singer-songwriter Maddie Regent piqued my attention with "The wolf" — one among a steady stream of strong singles surging with that glimmering, windows-down indie pop pulse — in the lead-up to this month's release of her debut full-length album, On the phone with my mom.
Produced in collaboration with her partner Cade Hoppe, Regent's lit-from-within vocals sound intimate beyond their gauzy feel or perfect placement in the mix, with the artist deep-diving into introspection — even if it doesn't paint her in an equally sparkling light. (We're living in the post-BRAT era now, after all, which the effects-heavy "Fountain of youth / man is a knife" can't help but recall, especially in its club-ready extended electropop outro.)
Tied together with horn-tinged piano ballads ("You could break my heart," "Goodnight"), Regent's debut presents a cohesive and well-rounded body of work that taps into the current zeitgeist with unflinching vulnerability and undeniable hooks. Dial *66, rinse and repeat.