Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
Maddie & Tae constructed their initial single, "Girl in a Country Song," as a battle cry camouflaged as satire: it took dead aim at the bros, but the duo smiled as they sank in the shiv. Clever as it was, "Girl in a Country Song" ran the risk of pegging Maddie & Tae as a novelty act but their full-length 2015 debut, Start Here, proves the hit was an opening salvo in a long-term mission to take back the contemporary country airwaves from hunks in tight jeans. Start Here is a proudly female album in addition to being a record that fully embraces the joys and occasional sorrows of being young, smart, funny, and ambitious. Given their precocious, pop-friendly attitude and association with Big Machine Records, it's easy to compare Madison Marlow and Taylor Dye to Taylor Swift, but Maddie & Tae emulate neither the skillful adolescent poetry nor the folky fragility of early Swift. They're an unabashed country act, gliding between heartbreak harmonies and punch lines with aplomb, the gilded ease masquerading the careful craft behind these 11 songs, every one of which bears songwriting credits by the duo. Craft is always a key component of the Nashville machine and producer Dann Huff ensures that Start Here follows the contours of commercial country; this isn't outsider music, this is bright, shiny country that cherishes polish as much as twang. The reason Start Here feels fresh lies entirely with Maddie & Tae, how they're tomboys who wish their boyfriend would just "Shut Up and Fish," how they feel as genuine when they're settling into sentiment on "Fly" as they do on "Sierra" when they pray for the downfall of a mean girl. In another's hands, such scheming could seem crass or nasty but placed in the context of Start Here, where it's surrounded by both sweetness and swagger, it simply adds another dimension to an album that embodies all the complex contradictions and unfettered optimism of modern country-pop in 2015.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From $10.83/month
David Huff, Sound Editor, StudioPersonnel - Dan Dugmore, Steel Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - DANN HUFF, Producer, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - STEVE MARCANTONIO, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Dorian Crozier, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Franklin, Steel Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Adam Ayan, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - JUstin Niebank, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Danny Myrick, ComposerLyricist - Drew Bollman, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Mike Griffith, Production Coordinator, StudioPersonnel - Mike Rojas, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Seth Morton, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Joeie Canaday, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Sean Neff, Sound Editor, StudioPersonnel - Derek Wells, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Maddie & Tae, MainArtist - Taylor Dye, ComposerLyricist - Maddie Marlow, ComposerLyricist - Alicia Mathews, Production Coordinator, StudioPersonnel - Laurel Kittleson, Production Coordinator, StudioPersonnel - IIya Toshinskiy, Acoustic Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Sarah Boddie, Production Coordinator, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2014 Republic Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc. (Dot Records)
DANN HUFF, Producer - Aaron Scherz, Producer, ComposerLyricist - Maddie & Tae, MainArtist - Taylor Dye, ComposerLyricist - Maddie Marlow, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2014 Republic Records, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc.
Stuart Duncan, Fiddle, AssociatedPerformer - David Huff, Sound Editor, StudioPersonnel - Jimmie Lee Sloas, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - DANN HUFF, Producer, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - STEVE MARCANTONIO, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Dorian Crozier, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Franklin, Steel Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Adam Ayan, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - JUstin Niebank, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Drew Bollman, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Mike Griffith, Production Coordinator, StudioPersonnel - Charlie Judge, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Seth Morton, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Sean Neff, Sound Editor, StudioPersonnel - Aaron Scherz, ComposerLyricist - Brad Tursi, ComposerLyricist - Derek Wells, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Maddie & Tae, MainArtist - Taylor Dye, ComposerLyricist - Maddie Marlow, ComposerLyricist - Alicia Mathews, Production Coordinator, StudioPersonnel - Laurel Kittleson, Production Coordinator, StudioPersonnel - IIya Toshinskiy, Acoustic Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Sarah Boddie, Production Coordinator, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2015 Republic Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc. (Dot Records)
Stuart Duncan, Fiddle, AssociatedPerformer - David Huff, Sound Editor, StudioPersonnel - Jimmie Lee Sloas, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - DANN HUFF, Producer, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - STEVE MARCANTONIO, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Dorian Crozier, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Franklin, Steel Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Adam Ayan, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - JUstin Niebank, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Drew Bollman, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Mike Griffith, Production Coordinator, StudioPersonnel - Charlie Judge, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Seth Morton, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Sean Neff, Sound Editor, StudioPersonnel - Aaron Scherz, ComposerLyricist - Pete Sallis, ComposerLyricist - Derek Wells, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Maddie & Tae, MainArtist - Taylor Dye, ComposerLyricist - Maddie Marlow, ComposerLyricist - Alicia Mathews, Production Coordinator, StudioPersonnel - Laurel Kittleson, Production Coordinator, StudioPersonnel - IIya Toshinskiy, Acoustic Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Sarah Boddie, Production Coordinator, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2015 Republic Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc. (Dot Records)
Stuart Duncan, Fiddle, AssociatedPerformer - Dan Dugmore, Steel Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - DANN HUFF, Producer, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - STEVE MARCANTONIO, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Dorian Crozier, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - JUstin Niebank, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Drew Bollman, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Mike Griffith, Production Coordinator, StudioPersonnel - Mike Rojas, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Jimmie Sloas, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Seth Morton, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Sean Neff, Sound Editor, StudioPersonnel - Aaron Scherz, Sound Editor, StudioPersonnel - Tiffany Vartanyan, ComposerLyricist - Jeff Sochor, Sound Editor, StudioPersonnel - Derek Wells, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Maddie & Tae, MainArtist - Taylor Dye, ComposerLyricist - Maddie Marlow, ComposerLyricist - IIya Toshinskiy, Acoustic Guitar, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2014 Republic Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc. (Dot Records)
Stuart Duncan, Fiddle, AssociatedPerformer - Dan Dugmore, Steel Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - DANN HUFF, Producer, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - STEVE MARCANTONIO, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Dorian Crozier, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - JUstin Niebank, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Drew Bollman, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Mike Griffith, Production Coordinator, StudioPersonnel - Mike Rojas, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Jimmie Sloas, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Seth Morton, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Sean Neff, Sound Editor, StudioPersonnel - Aaron Scherz, Sound Editor, StudioPersonnel, ComposerLyricist - Jeff Sochor, Sound Editor, StudioPersonnel - Derek Wells, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Maddie & Tae, MainArtist - Taylor Dye, ComposerLyricist - Maddie Marlow, ComposerLyricist - IIya Toshinskiy, Acoustic Guitar, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2014 Republic Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc. (Dot Records)
Stuart Duncan, Fiddle, AssociatedPerformer - Blair Daly, ComposerLyricist - Heather Morgan, ComposerLyricist - Dan Dugmore, Steel Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - DANN HUFF, Producer, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - STEVE MARCANTONIO, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Dorian Crozier, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Mike Griffith, Production Coordinator, StudioPersonnel - Mike Rojas, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Jimmie Sloas, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Seth Morton, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Aaron Scherz, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Derek Wells, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Maddie & Tae, MainArtist - Taylor Dye, ComposerLyricist - Maddie Marlow, ComposerLyricist - IIya Toshinskiy, Acoustic Guitar, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2014 Republic Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc. (Dot Records)
David Huff, Sound Editor, StudioPersonnel - Jimmie Lee Sloas, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - DANN HUFF, Producer, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - STEVE MARCANTONIO, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Dorian Crozier, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Franklin, Steel Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - JUstin Niebank, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Drew Bollman, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Eric Darken, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Mike Griffith, Production Coordinator, StudioPersonnel - Charlie Judge, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Seth Morton, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Sean Neff, Sound Editor, StudioPersonnel - Matt McGinn, ComposerLyricist - Derek Wells, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Maddie & Tae, MainArtist - Taylor Dye, ComposerLyricist - Maddie Marlow, ComposerLyricist - Alicia Mathews, Production Coordinator, StudioPersonnel - Laurel Kittleson, Production Coordinator, StudioPersonnel - IIya Toshinskiy, Acoustic Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Sarah Boddie, Production Coordinator, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2015 Republic Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc. (Dot Records)
Stuart Duncan, Fiddle, AssociatedPerformer - David Huff, Sound Editor, StudioPersonnel - Jimmie Lee Sloas, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Dan Dugmore, Steel Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - DANN HUFF, Producer, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - STEVE MARCANTONIO, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Dorian Crozier, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Adam Ayan, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - JUstin Niebank, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Drew Bollman, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Eric Darken, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Mike Griffith, Production Coordinator, StudioPersonnel - Charlie Judge, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Seth Morton, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Sean Neff, Sound Editor, StudioPersonnel - Jimmy Robbins, ComposerLyricist - Derek Wells, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Maddie & Tae, MainArtist - Taylor Dye, ComposerLyricist - Maddie Marlow, ComposerLyricist - Alicia Mathews, Production Coordinator, StudioPersonnel - Laurel Kittleson, Production Coordinator, StudioPersonnel - IIya Toshinskiy, Acoustic Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Sarah Boddie, Production Coordinator, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2015 Republic Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc. (Dot Records)
Stuart Duncan, Fiddle, AssociatedPerformer - Trent Willmon, ComposerLyricist - David Huff, Sound Editor, StudioPersonnel - Jimmie Lee Sloas, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - DANN HUFF, Producer, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - STEVE MARCANTONIO, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Dorian Crozier, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Paul Franklin, Steel Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Adam Ayan, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - JUstin Niebank, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Drew Bollman, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Eric Darken, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Mike Griffith, Production Coordinator, StudioPersonnel - Charlie Judge, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Seth Morton, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Sean Neff, Sound Editor, StudioPersonnel - Aaron Scherz, ComposerLyricist - Derek Wells, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Maddie & Tae, MainArtist - Taylor Dye, ComposerLyricist - Maddie Marlow, ComposerLyricist - Alicia Mathews, Production Coordinator, StudioPersonnel - Laurel Kittleson, Production Coordinator, StudioPersonnel - IIya Toshinskiy, Acoustic Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Sarah Boddie, Production Coordinator, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2014 Republic Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc. (Dot Records)
Stuart Duncan, Fiddle, AssociatedPerformer - Frank Rogers, ComposerLyricist - David Huff, Sound Editor, StudioPersonnel - Jimmie Lee Sloas, AssociatedPerformer, Bass (Vocal) - Dan Dugmore, Steel Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - DANN HUFF, Producer, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - STEVE MARCANTONIO, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Dorian Crozier, Drums, AssociatedPerformer - Adam Ayan, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - JUstin Niebank, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Drew Bollman, Assistant Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Eric Darken, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - Mike Griffith, Production Coordinator, StudioPersonnel - Charlie Judge, Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Seth Morton, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Sean Neff, Sound Editor, StudioPersonnel - Brent Anderson, ComposerLyricist - Derek Wells, Electric Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Maddie & Tae, MainArtist - Taylor Dye, ComposerLyricist - Maddie Marlow, ComposerLyricist - Alicia Mathews, Production Coordinator, StudioPersonnel - Laurel Kittleson, Production Coordinator, StudioPersonnel - IIya Toshinskiy, Acoustic Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Sarah Boddie, Production Coordinator, StudioPersonnel
℗ 2015 Republic Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc. (Dot Records)
Album review
Maddie & Tae constructed their initial single, "Girl in a Country Song," as a battle cry camouflaged as satire: it took dead aim at the bros, but the duo smiled as they sank in the shiv. Clever as it was, "Girl in a Country Song" ran the risk of pegging Maddie & Tae as a novelty act but their full-length 2015 debut, Start Here, proves the hit was an opening salvo in a long-term mission to take back the contemporary country airwaves from hunks in tight jeans. Start Here is a proudly female album in addition to being a record that fully embraces the joys and occasional sorrows of being young, smart, funny, and ambitious. Given their precocious, pop-friendly attitude and association with Big Machine Records, it's easy to compare Madison Marlow and Taylor Dye to Taylor Swift, but Maddie & Tae emulate neither the skillful adolescent poetry nor the folky fragility of early Swift. They're an unabashed country act, gliding between heartbreak harmonies and punch lines with aplomb, the gilded ease masquerading the careful craft behind these 11 songs, every one of which bears songwriting credits by the duo. Craft is always a key component of the Nashville machine and producer Dann Huff ensures that Start Here follows the contours of commercial country; this isn't outsider music, this is bright, shiny country that cherishes polish as much as twang. The reason Start Here feels fresh lies entirely with Maddie & Tae, how they're tomboys who wish their boyfriend would just "Shut Up and Fish," how they feel as genuine when they're settling into sentiment on "Fly" as they do on "Sierra" when they pray for the downfall of a mean girl. In another's hands, such scheming could seem crass or nasty but placed in the context of Start Here, where it's surrounded by both sweetness and swagger, it simply adds another dimension to an album that embodies all the complex contradictions and unfettered optimism of modern country-pop in 2015.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 11 track(s)
- Total length: 00:36:50
- Main artists: Maddie & Tae
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Dot Records
- Genre: Country
© 2015 Republic Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc. (Dot Records) ℗ 2015 Republic Records, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc. (Dot Records)
Improve album information
Why buy on Qobuz?
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalog with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets, and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.