Song Review – Maddie & Tae’s “Friends Don’t”
You want to root for Maddie & Tae, or at least you should. They’re counter programming, even if it’s still very fair to consider them pop country. They’re spunky and smart. They’re bold, and are willing to go where few have the guts to. Even if they’re not your style, they shake things up and make it interesting. And though they were apparently not interesting enough for Scott Borchetta to keep on Big Machine after he bit off more than he could chew and shuttered his Dot imprint, they landed safely on Mercury Nashville, and are now prepping for a sophomore release.
“Friends Don’t” is the first taste we get of Maddie & Tae 2.0 for an upcoming record they’ve already let us know will be conceptualized—something quite bold from two 21-year-old women who at this point are just making sure they can hold on to their careers. But Maddie & Tae didn’t get here by following the formula. “Girl In A Country Song” put them on the map by going in the exact opposite direction of everyone else. So as mainstream country music continues it become increasingly unimaginative, Maddie & Tae will task us to use a little imagination.
Written by the duo with some help from Justin Ebach and Jon Nite, “Friends Don’t” is yet again a song from Maddie & Tae that makes you think. It stokes it’s emotion not just by telling a story of the gray area between friendship and love, but also by activating your gray matter to really get you pondering the meaning. Intelligent in how it works, while still telling a story most can relate to, “Friends Don’t” is the exact type of composition you would hope for from the duo.
The production of the song is where “Friends Don’t” fails. Maddie & Tae may gain new patrons who perhaps believed the duo were too weird for their mainstream sensibilities before, but it will be while losing the casual onlookers from independent and traditional country who thought they were smart and fun, and smiled when their niece really got into “Shut Up and Fish.” Very contemporary in style, the banjo and acoustic guitar buried in the mix of “Friends Don’t” almost makes the song worse because it’s a nod that nothing else about the song is really country.
The hardline country fans were always skeptical of Maddie & Tae, and couched them as a machination of the mainstream meant to siphon off dollars from disgruntled listeners during the run of “Girl in a Country Song” in the midst of Bro-Country, even though an open mind concluded they were still much more country than pop, and more country than most of what the radio had to offer.
However this new song will only cement those negative sentiments, and for fair reasons. Being unique is what made Maddie & Tae interesting, separated them from the herd, and allowed them to bust through the male-dominated mainstream landscape. Going safe and pop is what Music Row producers love to try with young women performers, but it’s what makes them blend into the background, and often fail. Stripping the production down and staying rootsy like we saw with Cam’s “Burning House” and Carly Pearce’s “Every Little Thing,” or Ashley McBryde’s “A Little Dive Bar in Dahlonega” is what has been working recently in the mainstream.
It’s also worth pointing out that since the upcoming Maddie & Tae album will be a concept record, it is even more relevant to wait on passing judgement on any pre-release song until it’s heard in context. That said, it’s hard to see context rehabilitating the production of this particular song. It’s also hard to see the duo not continuing to write and record smart material, just like it’s fair to call “Friends Don’t.” So it’s a mixed bag at this point for the second coming of Maddie & Tae. We’ll just have to see how all of this materializes.
– – – – – – – –
One Gun Up for smart, sophisticated, yet touching and emotionally real songwriting.
One Gun Down for unimaginative and safe production, counter to what we’ve come to expect from Maddie & Tae.
May 1, 2018 @ 11:26 am
Unless they do a new radio tour, this is probably, sadly D.O.A. at radio. I’m rooting for them though
May 2, 2018 @ 6:20 am
Still irritated they couldn’t release Smoke as a single, because of some garbage Bro song with the same title hitting the radio.
May 1, 2018 @ 11:30 am
Even if they went all Sam Hunt, they’d still be better than Sam Hunt.
May 1, 2018 @ 11:39 am
“You want to root for Maddie & Tae, or at least you should”
Wrong on every level. Why would anyone who cares one iota for Country Music support any group that was signed by Scott Bulshitta.
This is his ace up his sleeve. “HA! I’ll fool the traditionalists with this one, they’ll never see me eroding their genre now. they think these girls will save their genre”
“Girl in a Country Song” didn’t “go the opposite direction.” That’s what Bulshitta wants you to think.
It was a calculated ruse designed to screw fans of Real Country Music.
You may have been wrong with the opening line of this article, but “this new song will only cement those negative sentiments, and for fair reasons” was the most accurate part.
But that’s only because I saw it coming for a long time. Surprised nobody listened to me.
Can we talk about a pair of Country Singers now?
May 1, 2018 @ 1:40 pm
If you listened to their whole debut album (not just “Girl In A Country Song”), you’d have to admit it’s very good, although in a kind of pop-country way. Stop bitching about today’s good artists not putting out the kind of music that made folks like Webb Pierce and Faron Young big stars: it will NEVER happen in the mainstream. Just be glad someone is making records worth being played on radio, instead of more FGL and Chris Lane.
May 1, 2018 @ 4:18 pm
No…
I wouldn’t have to, and I wouldn’t choose to.
Because compared to… gee where do I even start?
Kenny Price’s “Happy Tracks”
Gill and Franklin’s “Bakersfield”
“Redheaded Stranger”
Joshua Hedley;s “Mr. Jukebox”
and a whole expletive ton of other albums
it’s an expletive album full of expletive songs.
It stinks.
It bites the big whopper.
it’s all hat and no cattle.
and of course it’s better than Luke Bryan. sitting on a porcupine is better than Luke Bryan.
but just because horse shit smells better than dog shit that doesn’t mean we need to smell it voluntarily.
I don’t need to listen to trashy music just because it isn’t as trashy as other music.
I’m going to listen to music that I like.
And that means no rap, fake phony phoned in hogwash. no irritating twenty something girls who act like my ex, no trashy white dudes who tell me about how great drinking is, no electronic drums, autotuned voices…
May 1, 2018 @ 4:23 pm
You’re a real clown, fuzz nuts. I get tired of seeing your comments. Surr most agree.
May 1, 2018 @ 6:05 pm
Fuzzy is a clown, but he does make good points once in awhile…fully agree with him about the “poorly written pop country” part….
May 1, 2018 @ 4:25 pm
How do you know it’s bad if you don’t listen too it.
May 1, 2018 @ 5:01 pm
Because I’ve heard three Maddie and Tae songs. Girl in a Country Song, Shut up and Fish, and now this. they were all terrible.
They’re poorly written, pop-Country, and about as intellectually stimulating as my ex who can’t spell potassium.
It’s exactly what i think twenty-something girls sound like.
May 1, 2018 @ 8:24 pm
They’re not factually terrible. Me personally I like what i hear from them. But to think it’s a fact that their music sucks is just stupid. You don’t have to agree with other peoples opinions but you don’t seem to respect them unless they agree with you.
May 2, 2018 @ 7:06 am
Fuzzy, while I don’t always agree with you, I have the utmost respect for you. Every time you come on here to lay out your opinions in an open forum, you get railed from all sides. But I’ve yet to see anyone sway your opinion.
As someone who enjoys most of the music that you like; I also think it is silly to listen to anything that you don’t enjoy.
While Bobby Bare’s Streets of Baltimore is my #1 all time favorite song bar none, I enjoyed at least half of Maddie & Tae’s first album.
My taste leans tradtional/classic, but I like new stuff ranging from Country Side of Harmonica Sam to Mo Pitney to Joshua Hedley to Ashley McBryde to songs like Shut Up & Fish.
I guess what I wanted to say is, you listen to what you want to listen to, stick to your guns, and keep commenting because I’ve found great stuff from some of your previous comments
May 2, 2018 @ 8:10 am
Your point about horse shit vs dog shit is spot on.
If forced to choose, I’d take horse shit all day. You can still get stuff done. But dog shit makes me pause and want to hurl.
May 1, 2018 @ 2:40 pm
You’re really annoying. You know that, right?
May 1, 2018 @ 3:34 pm
You’re annoying and wrong. Try to look objectively at things
May 1, 2018 @ 5:11 pm
Ok.
is this song Country Music?
no.
therefore it doesn’t belong on Country Radio or in the Country section at the record store.
May 1, 2018 @ 8:19 pm
To me it is country. It’s not a fucking fact that it is not country. It’s all a matter of opinion not fact like you think.
May 2, 2018 @ 8:17 am
Got to go with Fuzzy on this one.
A couple acoustic instruments in the mix does not make a song country.
Singing with a southern accent does not make a song country either.
The tip off for me is that it sounds like most Carrie Underwood songs.
Overproduced pop. Sure, it’s done well for what it is. But what it is ain’t country.
You can still like it. Just don’t call it country.
May 2, 2018 @ 8:27 am
Maddie & Tae’s first record was filled with songs that were much more country than anything else. The same can’t be said about this particular song, but it’s just one song from an album we haven’t heard yet. More and more I’m seeing albums and artists judged off of one song, which is fatalist, and unfair.
And Fuzzy is annoying. I took him off of moderation for 10 minutes yesterday, and the first thing he did was to run up and down this comments section disagreeing with everyone. That’s a gross disrespect of what this comments section is for. You want to disagree, that’s totally fine. Attacking every single other commenter you don’t hold the same opinion with is not cool, muddies this comments section, and won’t be tolerated. Make your points like everyone else, and then move on.
May 1, 2018 @ 4:50 pm
I’m not a Maddie and Tae fan but I have nothing against them and I like a few of the songs that I have heard. Do you dismiss this type of music because it is not traditional country or because you actually think it is bad? If it were being marketed as another genre and you were to hear it, would you think it was terrible? And it’s really not fair to compare anything to Red Headed Stranger. And you always say something to the effect of “why would I listen to this when I couldn’t listen to (insert any really old country album)”. While those albums may be very good, doesn’t listening to the same albums for 50 years and never finding anything new get rather old? There’s a reason to listen to something else. Maybe you’re scared you’ll like it and won’t he considered a “True Country Fan”.
May 1, 2018 @ 5:10 pm
A bit of both.
I like a lot of other music besides Country Music.
I don’t like pop music being called Country.
This is a bit of the worst of both worlds. it’s not really Country Music, and it’s not really good regardless of genre.
If it were marketed as Pop I would probably treat it the same as Ed Sheeran or Meghan Trainor and just roll my eyes and wonder why people listen to it.
But because its marketed as Country Music it steams my rice a little bit.
per the albums thing.
I find new music all the time, not all of it Country. I recently enjoyed the new Joshua Hedley album. I bought a couple of Randy Elmore albums, and an album of Sammy Davis songs.
it’s not the same 50 albums over and over again although admittedly I probably buy maybe five or six “new” releases in a year and the rest of my buying is gathering older albums.
I also don’t feel particularly interested in the music of young people who are fresh out of college. if they are talented and doing an album of covers that’s a bit different, but new music is usually kind of emotionally pointless.
If I wanted that level of thinking I’d bug one of my exes and get my fair share of “thoughts of a twenty-something” in a nice easy to read format.
I have time to listen to about five CDs every day and I’m usually three days in advance with piles of albums I like. I can’t fit them all in and certainly not bother to take time away from better releases for something that isn’t particularly overwhelming.
May 1, 2018 @ 6:12 pm
I like this response. Now I feel bad for questioning your methods.
May 1, 2018 @ 7:42 pm
Question away! I’m not as grumpy as I seem!
May 2, 2018 @ 3:24 am
Your comment about not being interested in music made by young performers because it’s “emotionally pointless” makes NO SENSE at all. Lots of legends started making great music even before turning 20: that’s the case of Jean Shepard and Faron Young for example, since you (and I) love them so much.
May 1, 2018 @ 12:20 pm
I like it.
May 1, 2018 @ 4:49 pm
I like it too. Because is not a bad song after all.
May 1, 2018 @ 12:26 pm
Pop music.
May 14, 2018 @ 11:53 pm
Is that an insult? Haha. It’s more of a statement to me
May 1, 2018 @ 12:34 pm
I think it’s fair to pass judgement now. The irony of this is that Maddie Marlow said “that their next album is going to be more country than their first”. Funny as hell. So if that’s her definition of “more country” you’re not looking at Maddie and Tae 2.0 here but Taylor Swift 2.0. Except… to be fair… Taylor had some better songs than this damn single.
May 1, 2018 @ 12:49 pm
We’ve heard one song from the new album, which means probably 10% or less of what it will contain. It’s fair to pass judgement on this song, but not on the upcoming album, or them as artists without hearing the rest of the record. Also, this is a lead single, which almost always is the most pop and radio-friendly selection from a record. All that said, I’m disappointed in the production, and it certainly doesn’t bode well.
May 1, 2018 @ 1:15 pm
Maybe they will pull off some more traditional material… would be nice if they do. I’m just not holding my breath on it though since I’ve heard some of their other new songs (“Welcome To The Club”, “Just Fine”, “Old Dog New Tricks”,) which all seem to be more pop oriented. I guess we’ll have to wait and see. Not trying to argue with you Trig… just disappointed like you.
May 1, 2018 @ 2:47 pm
To be fair to her though, I think she said that a few years ago. Their last 2 singles, while definitely ‘country,’ didn’t gain any traction. They’ve had a lot of time to rethink their vision for a 2nd album and they’ve performed an album’s worth of new songs live in the past 3 years that all won’t be making the upcoming album. The one other song they’ve confirmed, “One Heart to Another,” sounds great live and I hope the studio arrangement does it justice.
May 1, 2018 @ 3:54 pm
“One Heart To Another” does have kind of a country feel to it… never heard that one before now. Time will tell as to what they release and what direction their music will take. I just hope they stay more country based in their music and storytelling… personally I don’t listen to a lot of mainstream country music these days because you just can’t feel the artist express the music… but I could feel it from them and I just don’t want to see them lose that connection to their audience.
May 1, 2018 @ 12:49 pm
Yep, safe and pop. This is basically what all the female “country” singers on The Voice this season are going after. And they’re all around Maddie and Tae’s age. It indeed all just blends together, with nothing standing out. While I can appreciate some effort in the lyrics, it’s simply a boring song. As such, I have a hard time seeing this gaining airplay traction, but I’m also a 35 year old male who is obviously not the target demographic for this song.
May 1, 2018 @ 12:53 pm
Friends don’t let friends believe this shit should pass for anything less than the same pop garbage being passed off as country music.
May 1, 2018 @ 1:38 pm
Overly processed pop country (?) pablum.
May 1, 2018 @ 1:39 pm
Too bad. I liked some of their songs and I was impressed by them. Girl in a country song was quite accurate. the song “Fly” was beautiful. Shut up and Fish was very innovative and funny.
May 1, 2018 @ 2:54 pm
I think any woman getting any headway in mainstream country that is even SLIGHTLY country should be applauded during Rhexa gate.
Off topic but what is up with star wearing clothes with holes in them. This just remind of that whole Jarvis Cocker rant in the song common people. LOL!
Well that and Love Child by The Supremes, “I started school in a worn, torn, dress that somebody threw out…”
I hope holes in clothes is not something that supposedly makes you more country.
May 1, 2018 @ 3:11 pm
yeah those fake worn pants with holes cost more than plain ones! they want to fool people that they wer eon the tractor all day. Im working class like you! LOL
May 1, 2018 @ 4:00 pm
Hahaha… sad but true. I do landscaping… digging 4 foot ditches, climbing 50 feet up trees, pouring concrete, building walls, laying turf. It’s not easy… but I work hard for those worn out jeans with the holes in them. And no I don’t mean so I can go cash that check at the end of the day and buy the fake kind. Haha.
May 1, 2018 @ 3:56 pm
Not a bad song and yes the subject matter is something a lot of young people experience. Not country in any way and I wish they would have just left the banjo out completely instead of assuming we’re so dumb that we’ll think it’s country because it’s in there.
May 1, 2018 @ 4:09 pm
Asa HUGE fan of their first album from the writing to the arrangements to the performances I have to say that , again , you’ve nailed the issue with this release Trigger . Another country-clever idea from the duo. But it gets hijacked by ” radio ‘ ears who feel it needs to sound more commercial , more pop , more generic ….and consequently leaves the finished ‘product’ far LESS than in could have been .
Yes , I suppose you pay THAT kinda price sometimes for chasing mainstream success …..but they avoided it first time out . Shut Up And FISH was as innovative an example of country ‘evolving’ yet staying true to its earmarks in terms of groove , ironic lyric viewpoint , arrangement and again ….great performances from the girls but certainly didn’t seem to get any support from the industry .
I’m giving this duo the benefit of the doubt here. I’d be surprised to find that this arrangement was their idea but because the lyric is interesting enough and smart enough I’m still on board the Maddie and Tae train .
May 1, 2018 @ 4:38 pm
Maddie Marlowe is hands down the best female voice in the mainstream right now.
May 1, 2018 @ 5:28 pm
fuzzy fuzzy ….relax ………she’s maybe second best .
Keith Urban is still the best female voice in mainstream
May 1, 2018 @ 4:43 pm
Would you happen to know what the concept is supposed to be on this album?
May 1, 2018 @ 5:00 pm
It’s supposed to about the arc of a relationship. Not exactly Red Headed Stranger, but we’ll see.
May 1, 2018 @ 6:09 pm
Im a big fan of concept albums. And I like this song. Never thought I’d buy an album by these two but I’m actually looking forward to getting this.
May 1, 2018 @ 10:56 pm
The only concept album that even comes close to Red Headed Stranger is another of Willie’s, Tougher Than Leather.
May 2, 2018 @ 11:56 am
the end of Marty Stuart’s album “This One’s Gonna Hurt You” is as good as Red Headed Stranger, but it doesn’t hit you until it’s absolutely over.
May 1, 2018 @ 5:34 pm
The new Josh Ward album comes out Friday. Im a big fan. Just curious if its on your radar Trigger.
May 1, 2018 @ 5:42 pm
Curious what you think about the new Randall King album as well. I like it…
May 1, 2018 @ 5:56 pm
Hold that thought….
May 1, 2018 @ 5:35 pm
I’m still laughing at Fuzzy’s reaching Grand Master level in irritable candor.
May 1, 2018 @ 6:10 pm
Completely agree with that note about the production. I saw them perform the song prior to the studio release on YouTube and it was stripped down, acoustic, placing more of a focus on the clever lyrics. Needless to say, I was pretty disappointed when this version got released. Hopefully they can return to some of the production that we’re used to on the new record!
YouTube radio performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h91OP0_xiv4
May 2, 2018 @ 7:35 am
“Shut Up and Fish” was great but it is not the 90s anymore so a clever song like it never had a chance.
May 2, 2018 @ 8:08 am
How sad is it that ‘clever’ , unique , well-crafted , traditional country songwriting doesn’t have a chance in mainstream right now ? I’ll tell you how sad it is …….STUPID sad . Just short-sighted , stubborn , cash-grabbing stupidity and this does an enormous disservice to ALL up and coming writers with original , unique and well crafted song ideas AND to the genre in generall
May 2, 2018 @ 8:38 am
One of the better Nash-Pop songs.
Will be a hit (with a year-long chart run) or end like “Diane”. The Cam single crashed & burned outside of the Top 40.
Next/new female artist hoping for radio play: Abby Anderson – “Make Him Wait” (Black River – the Kelsea Ballerini label)
May 2, 2018 @ 10:29 am
Yep, this is a decent pop song. They don’t seem to care about being country singers, though. That’s fine, there are plenty others to listen to.
May 2, 2018 @ 12:30 pm
I wanna like it. I actually like the occasional Body Like a Backroad or You Broke Up With Me, but this just isn’t working for me.
May 2, 2018 @ 8:34 pm
I really really like this! Usually with Maddie and Tae, I want to like them but I don’t. Their voices and production is just a bit chirpy for me. This is going into my regular rotation. Thanks, Trigger!