Madelyn Victoria E.P. – Madelyn Victoria (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

Country and pop have a way of sharing the same bed to very effective ends. Such a blend is never going to please the purists but genres should be allowed to evolve and spread their wings and if records such as this take country music into more commercial climes and appeal to a wider and more general audience then that can only be for the greater good. Can’t it? But for all this talk of pop and commerciality, this is first and foremost a country record with all the hallmarks and musical trappings that you except of such a label.

Current single He Only Loves Me on The Dancefloor acts as the centrepiece of this collection, its smooth, lilting beats the perfect pairing for the lyrical content of the song. But Madelyn is anything but a one trick pony, Hold On, and Wild Ride drive on an upbeat country-rock beat whilst Breaking My Heart harnesses jiving honky-tonk grooves and the e.p. bows out on a more reflective, late night, mellow note with Sand in a Bottle.

Music can either dwell on its past traditions and play with the familiar or it can look to the future and head into bright new horizons. Madelyn Victoria is that rare act which manages to do both.