Photo: Sian Jossi
Squarely Contributor & Alt-Pop Newcomer MLY Releases Second Single ‘Madonna’ via AWAL
MLY’s latest single is out now! Click here to listen.
Bristol-based singer-songwriter and producer MLY is set to release her second single Madonna on 13th September. An exploration of the Madonna-whore dichotomy, vengeance and the interpersonal connections that shape a person’s sensuality, the track sees MLY expressing rage at the expectations put on women whilst ending on a hopeful note that healthier and more balanced relationships are possible.
Drawing inspiration from Blondie, Daughter, and The Cranberries, with a sound adjacent to Dream Wife and the Big Moon, the track was created entirely by women – being written and produced by MLY, mixed by elusive producer G and mastered by Emily Magpie.
Born in a rural commuter village in the South East of England, MLY grew up with a mother in an all-girl rock band. Spending summers touring biker festivals across Europe in a decades-old campervan, she was raised on a diet of rock and metal. Drawn to the lighter intricacies of indie-pop, a genre banned in her parents’ household, she wound up in Bristol, running underground DIY post-punk shows and championing femme and non-binary artists such as locals Grandmas House & Grove. Playing alongside contemporaries like Emily Isherwood, but still uncertain of her own capabilities, it took the 2020 pandemic to kick start a desire to self-teach production. Using a mixture of live instruments and samples – from airy synths to plucked guitar strings – her second single Madonna is a result of those years, and a step up both lyrically and in terms of production from her debut single.
Of the track, MLY explains: “Madonna is about feminine rage and explores the Madonna-whore dichotomy that strips women of their multiplicity. It’s only in the absence of this dichotomy that sensual and loving interpersonal relationships can be nurtured as is expressed in the line ‘let go of the bloody Madonna’. ‘Head on the block, coming of age’ can be read as both a cry of revenge and a reference to the numerous women punished for existing outside of the expectations of men (Henry the Eighth’s wives, Joan of Arc, Boudicca) and how revelations surrounding autonomy and sexuality under the patriarchy are a coming of age experience for women.”
MLY has previously played Rough Trade, Thekla, Harbourfest and Dot to Dot, supported Emily Isherwood, Grove and Grandmas House, and performed at multiple Sofar Sounds shows with upcoming gigs to be announced soon.
MLY is one of our valued Squarely Magazine contributors, known for her up-and-coming artist spotlights through Sofar Sounds. You can read more from the magazine, here.
