Most 15-year-olds are usually just dealing with high school drama, but rising star Maddox Baston has just released his new EP, First Dance.
Batson navigates the world with wisdom and wit far beyond his 15 years. After the Nashville-born, Alabama-based songwriter began gaining notoriety covering songs from Zach Bryan, Red Clay Strays, and more, he started to write his own songs.
Life is moving fast for the multi-instrumentalist (piano, guitar & mandolin) and he’s trying his best to remain a kid while becoming the next up in country-pop music. “It can be overwhelming, this life, but I’ve got a lot of good people surrounding me,” he explains. “I’m still just a kid, though, and I’m happy about that.”
Thanks to early singles like “Tears In The River” and “I Wanna Know,” Batson quickly showed that he wasn’t only a star at covering country hits, but an excellent writer of his own home-cooked cuts – a practice he saw first-hand as a co-writer on Lana Del Rey and Quavo’s smash hit collaboration, “Tough.”
With the arrival of his latest single, “Girl In Green” and his EP First Dance, Batson is ready to show the world you’re never too young to be the face of music all while preparing for sold-out live shows across the country, his debut appearance at Stagecoach Music Festival and more new music.
His EP contains four songs – “Girl in Green,” “I DON’T LIKE YOU ANYMORE,” “X’s,” and “Southbound.” The songs are mostly filled with romance, with a mixture of pop and country vibes, which are shown even stronger in the music videos.
“Girl In Green,” is based on the romance between Batson and a beautiful young girl whom he ends up taking to prom. This song is also categorized as pop-country, following in the steps of the inspirations he has seen at a young age.
In the lyrics, he repeatedly questions if anybody has seen the girl in green who he saw, but didn’t talk to and she left an impression. This experience can then be universal for teenagers to relate to and connect with Baston’s experience.
The song is also catchy in a way, as the rhythm and beat correlate well. For instance, when Baston sings, “Man it was a shame, didn’t catch your name, I’ve been looking for her ever since she walked away” he’s talking about the missed opportunities we’ve all had with someone who caught our eye. Although Batson’s lyrics may not seem the most creative, he gets his message across and succeeds by connecting all the minor details to his main goal of finding his girl in green.
The next song “X’s” which is a catchy pop-country tune built around a plucked banjo line, which allows for Baston to shine in his voice more deeply. On “X’s,” Maddox sings about what most 14-year-old boys spend all day thinking about, though his vulnerability and earnestness set him apart from every other kid his age. “I’m just a teenager, so I haven’t been through all the hard moments that I’ll probably go through later in life,” he explains. “If I’m being completely blunt, I’m mostly writing about girls, because I’m mostly thinking about girls.”
The music video contained good transitions to me as it demonstrated Baston’s success. Specifically, when Baston is on top of the stage as his audience goes wild. It was also interesting how Batson’s love story connected with his success at the end.
The downside to me would be the flow of the song, as it didn’t feel like it was going anywhere. In my taste of music, I prefer music that flows constantly throughout the song as it becomes more alive and interactive for the listener.
The third song “I DIDN’T EVEN LIKE YOU” was interesting as the title made it seem its theme was going to be anti-romance. However, it turns out to be the opposite, as Batson is saying he doesn’t just like her, his feelings are now deeper and he wants out of the friend zone. While it was catchy in its way, I didn’t like it as much as “Girl in Green.”
Finally, the last song “Southbound,” focuses on a break up and how he and the relationship are headed south. Though I think the beat is decent, the song as a whole is mediocre to me.
Overall, these songs were delivered by an enthusiastic young man whom I give some respect to. It’s not easy to maintain a career at the age of 15 and to be skillful enough to showcase it.
Baston, in my opinion, does seem to have a bright future ahead of him as he is still young and acknowledges it, unlike other arrogant young artists.
Although I am not a fan of country music, Batson does have the talent to make an impact as he is happy building his career, which is a significant tool all artists need.
Baston may potentially become the new face of pop-country in the future, which I can vouch for as an early fan. I would overall rate his EP as a 3.5/5 since Baston does satisfy the basics of being a good singer through his voice, music videos, and at just 15, he has the potential to be better in the future with experience.
