At the height of the pandemic, like most of us, Maddy Davis found herself back in her hometown and with much more than she would usually have to herself. Stuck in a familiar place, surrounded by both who she used to be and the person she’s become in the last decade, she used these moments of reflection to anchor an overarching theme for her debut EP, MUD.

“I wanted this project to serve as an open book to the public eye. I chose vulnerability when crafting this project, knocking down all of my walls — ones that I might not have realized I was keeping up until I started putting pen to paper,” Davis shares on the inspiration behind her latest project. True to her words, the opening track and well received single, “Middle Kid,” pushes back the curtain, revealing her psyche and emotions as she looks inward and delivers something close to a “self-diss track.” Giving us a taste of the EP and its sonic notes, “Middle Kid” is quite open bearing only the necessary instruments and production effects to carry the narrative. This void of distractions brings more attention to her vocals and more importantly to her lyrics.

One of the benefits of the passage of time is the comfort and humor we can find in hindsight. The details and people we used to think were absolutely trivial to our existence become pitiful, or entertaining (depending on your angle and how you feel on a particular day) anecdote. As she explores past mistakes and relationships, Maddy uses the best advice she can muster from hindsight as well as the clarity that comes with the distance on various tracks. “Sally! I Met A Boy” a fuzzy pop punk jam about falling for the wrong person, and “If You Wrote Me A Song,” a scratchy ode to a past lover who left a lasting impression on her life, explore how your attitude can change towards a situation or relationship after some time and space.

While time helps you see the humor in certain situations it can also give you room to properly appreciate, mourn, and compute emotions you’ll never quite get over. Losing people who you would have gladly spent the rest of your days with isn’t something that gains clarity in a linear way. This is exactly what Maddy beautifully ruminates in the closing track, “Kinda Thought.” A delicate piano ballad, with texture and depth, “Kinda Thought” is the perfect credit track, if you will to her journey. One sure to leave a lasting impression on you and through you into a period of reflection of your own.

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