Something has changed for Madison Cunningham. After the publication of “Revealer” and the victory at the Grammy Award, everything pointed to a prompt repeat of the successful album in 2022, but these last few years have been marked by many changes, not only personal (a divorce and a new emotional relationship) but also artistic. Over the years, the Californian author has displayed her personal guitar virtuosity by collaborating with artists from different background musical (Mumford & Sons, Rufus Wainwright, Alisa Amador, Deep Sea Diver), he opened concerts for famous names (Harry Styles, Hozier) and recorded a delightful cover album of “Buckingham, Nicks” with Andrew Bird (a record recently reissued after having been highly sought after by collectors for years). With “Ace”, however, Madison Cunningham chose a more intimate and reflective profile. The real break with the previous album “Revealer” is contained in the narrative style of the compositions, largely focused on the painful breakup of a relationship that lasted five years. Not only is the complexity of the chords and the unpredictability of the melodies even more robust, but the transition from guitar to piano introduces a new approach, both in the composition and in the elaboration of the arrangements.
A few piano notes open the album in “Shatter Into Form”, chords that seem to break a long and disconcerting silence, a declaration of intent from an artist ready to question herself, to the point of breaking some ties with the past. Comparisons with artists of the caliber of Carole King (“Shore”) or with the best pages of Joni Mitchell (“Best Of Us”) are no longer out of place, and Cunningham's versatility is impressive when she engages with the unusual vortex of strings, guitars and percussion of “Skeletree” or with the eager and painful rhythmic body of “Break The Law” (two of the most interesting episodes of the album).
What appears as a habitual chamber-folk is instead an unpredictable journey into the darkest soul of soft-rock (“Beyond The Moon”), a journey that intercepts both the graces (“My Full Name”) and the brazenness of art-pop (“Goodwill”), to the point of even sounding fun and carefree in the tangled and reckless “Golden Gate (On And On)”.
With “Ace” Madison Cunningham holds together two souls, two faces of a musical universe where both Joanna Newsom (“Mummy”) and Lucy Dacus (the valuable collaboration with Fleet Foxes in “Wake”) have drawn, with a personality and originality that confirms their status decidedly above average.
22/11/2025
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
