I’m quite taken with Jaye Madison’s MIRЯOR: Vision and believe you will be as well. Jordan and Madison Skinner began singing together and apart in childhood, as most acts of this ilk do, and developed their vocal talents at an exponential pace. Their eventual move from Texas to Nashville accelerated their development and their debut MIRЯOR: Framework announced their arrival as one of the most promising tandems emerging in recent years. The follow-up MIRЯOR: Vision is the second of three EP releases designed to be heard back to back as the duo’s first full-length album and solidifies their standing as major league talents in an increasingly competitive landscape.
“Peace of Mind” is a bold way to open their second release. It makes it apparent that Jaye Madison is far more than pop performers searching for fame and nothing more. They are vying to write and record songs that don’t wither under posterity’s exacting glare and “Peace of Mind” pulls it off with room to spare. Their penchant for stately piano-laden songwriting reaches another zenith with this composition and it’s nearly miraculous how they achieve this end without ever lapsing, even for a second, into melodramatic theatrics.
All the more miraculous is how they can shift gears. “Ride or Die” is the opener’s polar opposite, a confident and optimistic celebration of finding someone who you want to be with until the bitter end that doesn’t coddle listeners with predictable affectionate imagery. It sounds genuine and so few songs of this stripe ever do. The musical arrangement could coast on the song’s good feelings alone, but Jaye Madison and their collaborators aren’t content to merely hit their marks certain they’ve crafted a radio-friendly number. It has nuance and sparkles with superb skill.
They change things up once again with “Plot Twist”. It aims higher than even the first song while traversing much of the same lyrical territory covered by the previous cut. Not enough songwriters compose tracks about how love can upend our lives for the better and Jaye Madison does a stellar job redressing that lack with this tune. The tempo is perfect for the material as well and hearing the audible joy in their vocals clues us in to the commitment they bring to this performance. They know they have a winner on their hands and realize its potential.
MIRЯOR: Vision concludes with “Middle Name”. The beautiful piano opening the track sets the stage for their joint vocal harmonies and the seamless union of their voices draws us into the song’s web. It’s a song layered with specific details listeners will be able to latch onto rather than wearying us with generalities. A lot of the song’s success comes from the spot-on drumming that pushes the track forward and turns it in dramatic directions with well-placed fills. It lowers the curtain on this EP with the right amount of fanfare, yet never sounds overwrought. Jaye Madison reinforces the promise of their debut with MIRЯOR: Vision while setting the table for further riches to come.
Troy Johnstone