Words by Dylan Bryant
Born and raised in a small town just outside of Brighton, Maisie Peters has a natural talent for writing extremely catchy acoustic tracks that have earnt her over half a billion streams worldwide. Since starting her career, gaining popularity on YouTube and busking on the streets of Brighton, her fanbase has grown extensively with support from the likes of Taylor Swift, Sam Smith and Phoebe Bridges.
It’s with this impressive introduction that she has released her debut album ‘You Signed Up For This’ under Ed Sheeran’s label – Gingerbread man Records.
Opening the album comes the title track which immediately introduces the glories of her synth-filled melodies and her iconic repartee styled lyrics. A structure that is followed throughout the course of this wonderful debut, filled to the brim with indisputable bangers.
Although Maisie’s lyricism on this album isn’t necessarily personal, there’s moments of ‘tongue n cheek’ where we see more snappy lines for example with lyrics from ‘Boy’ such as; “She tries to get closer, so you go and ghost her, like it’s perpetual Halloween” and “If I had a pound for every hole, I saw punched in the wall, I’d be a rich girl”.
Contrary to this, there’s moments where she settles the upbeat feel of this record yet maintains the same hopeful atmosphere. ‘Brooklyn’ and ‘Elvis Song’ are just as undeniably catchy as the accompanying songs, yet these tracks are where this album really falls into place. Maisie Peters injects the fun and energy from tracks such as ‘I’m Trying (Not Friends) and ‘Psycho’ with lyrics about Fake IDs and cheap wine but she adopts a more romantic and mature instrumental.
Stand out single, ‘Outdoor Pool’ highlights Maisie’s talent to write extremely catchy bedroom pop tracks. Her ability to tell stories is effortless as she outlines various scenarios from the perspectives of a teenager growing up in a small town.
Maisie doesn’t shy away from showing her various influences on this record. There are hints of Taylor Swift throughout as she proves she’s just starting out on her impressive career.
Although only released on the 27th August 2021, this album feels as if Maisie Peters is writing from the perspective of her future-self. There’s an element of nostalgia coming from every track, as Peters writes extremely relatable remarks about the highs and lows of your early twenties despite the fact she’s going through them right now.
This highly anticipated album certainly doesn’t disappoint and in the words of the closing track on this record; it only makes sense that I conclude this review by stating that Maisie Peters has demonstrated that she truly is one ‘Tough Act’ to follow. (Sorry, I had to!)
