Start Here

The young country duo Madison Marlow and Taylor Dye have made a big splash with this debut album and its first single, “Girl in a Country Song”—a welcome antibody to the bro-country trend currently infecting the airwaves. Referencing lyrics from some of country's top male stars, Maddie & Tae call out the limited roles women play in much of modern country music—essentially either arm- or truck-candy—with snark, class and honesty. This song alone is reason to buy Start Here, but the rest of the tracks do not disappoint. “Smoke” is a deftly constructed song for an elusive lover, while “Sierra” and “Your Side of Town” are high-energy revenge songs worthy of reckless dancing and top-of-your-lungs singing. And, yes, there's a fishing song. On par with Brad Paisley's “I'm Gonna Miss Her (The Fishing Song),” “Shut Up and Fish” is unabashed country complete with colloquialisms that'll leave bro-cowboys “madder than a hornet in an old Coke can.”