Madison Violet

The thing about sticking to a formula when making an album is that if it is followed, the end result is most certainly going to sound good. But there's always that risk of releasing a disc that's missing that certain je ne sais quois, or if you are Simon Cowell, that "x factor." Whatever you want to call it, it's exactly what Madison Violet are lacking. Their songs are sweet and well produced, their harmonies are there and their loves have been lost and pined for, but that's where the draw of The Good in Goodbye ends. Every song, except for "Colour in Grey" and "Christy Allen Francis," is upbeat, with definite shades of Indigo Girls. In "Fallen by the Wayside," the two girls who make up Madison Violet (Brenley MacEachern and Ashley MacIsaac's sister, Lisa MacIsaac) sing the platitudinous line, "Love, it don't come easy/Love, oh love, we lost our way." The second track sounds like it could be Deana Carter's "Strawberry Wine" and "Come as You Are" sounds like a discount version of Neil Young's "Heart of Gold." It shouldn't come as a surprise that the most interesting track is a cover of an old bluegrass tune called "Cindy Cindy."