The Key Studio Sessions: Madalean Gauze

Philadelphia singer and songwriter and badass rocker Madalean Gauze has been quietly making a name for herself for the past couple years. Last spring, she released the American War EP on Bandcamp. It was her first, but had quite a team behind it: recorded with Brian McTear at Miner Street Studio, it featured instrumental contributions from Dean Sabatino and Dandrew Stevens from Dead Milkmen; Pat Berkery from more bands than you can shake a stick at (most prominently The Bigger Lovers, Danielson and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah); and Dave Hartley from The War on Drugs. Let’s stop right there, though, and point out that while she had some heavy hitters working with her, Gauze could have made that EP with anybody and it would have been just as great – the strength is in the songs and the singing, and she’s a remarkable writer with a voice full of power and emotion.

Gauze spent the ensuing year playing lots of shows, testing out new material from the stage and taking it to the studio with Jeff Zeigler at Uniform Recording. The result is Deep Heart, which comes out next month, and Gauze and her band performed four cuts from it live in the studio for this week’s Key Session. There’s a bit of PJ Harvey-ness to, some hints of Leonard Cohen, some parallels to her contemporaries like Angel Olsen and Laura Stevenson. But just use those names as simple points of entry and reference, since Gauze’s music has a vibe unto itself. The excellent “Accumulations of Life” leads off the set with a tubthumping beat care of Berkery; the poppy “Dark Shadows” shimmers as Gauze and guitarist Ross Bellenoit trade off licks; the drums actually collapsed at the end of “Deep Heart” and I think you can hear bassist Todd Erk laughing as the song fades. (“To You I Give” has an equally intense finale, but without any instrument breakage.) And again, at the core of it all is the melodies, the hooks – the outstanding songwriting.

Watch a performance of “Accumulations of Life” below via VuHaus, listen to the whole Key Studio Sessions set and download it for free over at Soundcloud. And mark your calendar, since Gauze and her band have two gigs to make note of over the next month. This Saturday, August 29th, she performs with Illinois and The Spirit World at Bourbon and Branch; and on Friday, October 2nd, she’s at Boot and Saddle with Bird Watcher and Tyler Burkhart. Tickets and more information about both shows can be found at the XPN Concert Calendar.

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