Review Summary: A promising debut with catchy melodies and strong storytelling
Maisie Peters is an English singer/songwriter who has had a somewhat rapid rise to prominence over the past several years. As Peters' early songwriting caught the attention of the YouTube community, she was signed to Atlantic Records and shortly thereafter released her 2018 breakout single, "Worst of You," which garnered over 100 million streams. Shortly thereafter--in the latter part of her teenage years--she followed this up with a set of EPs that leveraged a more intimate, pared-back singer/songwriter style. Ed Sheeran, noting her meteoric rise, wooed her over to his record label and, along with a team of producers, worked with her on a much-anticipated debut LP,
You Signed Up For This (which Maisie Peters worked on in parallel to writing an original soundtrack for the Apple TV+ series Trying).
The album's opener,
"You Signed Up For This," was actually one of the last songs to be written as Peters and team noticed that the record was missing a strong opening track. This song fills the role well, introducing many of the musical and lyrical themes that drive the album: songs that give voice to the highs and low of adolescence and young adulthood (
"I am twenty and probably upset right now / I still haven't got my driver's license"), lyrics that are replete with small details that bring her narratives to light (
a la Taylor Swift), and rather heavy-handed production that marks a departure from her prior, more reserved singer/songwriter aesthetic.
That last theme is one that provides a mixed bag of results throughout the record, but there are plenty of instances where the glitzy production is additive and well-executed. The following track,
"I'm Trying (Not Friends)," is an early example of this as one of the catchiest songs on the record. With soaring vocal layers reminiscent of
1989- or
Lover-era Taylor Swift (and a bass tone that loosely reminded me of "You Need to Calm Down"), the bright and poppy production pairs well with the anthemic and liberated lyrics. Peters also levies some delightfully sharp jabs at the male antagonist, with lines like
"Coz I'm the baby but I'm gonna be the bigger man, babe / So many blank slates I could build a whole f***ing house."
"Psycho," which shows up a little later in the tracklist, is another track where the maximalist production feels appropriate and creates a bright, sunny, 80s dance pop kind of feel with backing instrumentation that reminded me of "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepson. While it doesn't feature the strongest lyricism on the album, the lines work well in the context of the song. This is followed by another highlight,
"Boy," which comes off as a carefree, mocking pop track that features some of Peters' most savage lines:
"You said you got a lot of enemies / And you claim your dreams are always lucid / But you're just high and can't tell the difference." Also, this track features an obvious call-out to the Taylor Swift mentality with the line
"I could be a grown-up / But, baby, you know what? / Maybe I'll release this song instead." As a fun fact, this song was originally going to be titled "F*** Boy," but Peters and team later decided to remove the F-word, a decision that I actually think gave the song a lot more swagger. The whooshing pause in
"But you're a... Boy" makes that word have so much more bite and impact.
There are some moments, though, where the lyrical jabs seem a little over the top, like in the penultimate track
"Volcano." As Peters sings
"I wished you a happy birthday, and you still said nothing / I'll throw you in a volcano, I hope death is sudden," I couldn't help but feel that committing a fiery homicide in response to an unrequited happy birthday wish felt a bit out of proportion. I can't complain too much though, as this line did add some flavor to a generally bland track.
Aside from her lyrical jabs, Peters' other songwriting strength lies in the overabundance of small details that really bring her storytelling to life throughout the record. In
"Brooklyn," an easy-going nostalgic anthem about sisterly love, the rapid succession of small details about Maisie and her sister's 2019 trip to NYC gives some life and color to a track that otherwise was fairly unremarkable musically:
"Quick out of bed / Shuttle to Gatwick / Noodles for breakfast / Terrible tickets / I hate your tracksuit / Sister, I missed this." Or take
"Love Him I Don't"--a mellower track featuring pared back verses and weightless, ethereal-feeling choruses--which features more rich detail (
"Met you through my favorite cousin / Lighting cigarettes off an oven") and a few instances of light-hearted play on words (
"Fell for you and got a bad concussion"). While this track was another one that didn't grab me, the lyricism made it a more engaging listening experience in the moment. Finally, the track
"Villain" (which was one of the highlights on the album for me) sees Peters flexing her lyrical muscle again, this time articulating the burning desperation that comes after seeing someone you love with another person:
"Now you’re in her room, getting undressed / I curse you on the front of the steps / I’ll burn this house, I mean it.”
It’s worth noting that I also thought Peters’ lyrics suffered some occasional bumps and bruises along the way.
"Hollow" is a mellower cut whose chorus gives off the sort of weightless and melancholy-yet-serene sensation you have after a really good cry. However, some lines in the chorus felt a bit over the top for me (
"This hurts so loud / Further than down”), which ended up keeping me at an emotional distance here rather than bringing me in.
"Outdoor Pool" suffers from some of the same moments, with some lines that bring a crashing reminder of the adolescent nature of this song:
"I’m just fifteen, I just want you, so that’s cool," and
"Is she gonna be your girlfriend? / Guess I misunderstood / It’s the worst day of my life but it’s all good" were two examples that really made me feel like I was too old to be listening to this song. The slowly augmenting production on this track also tended to keep me at a distance here, as I felt it stripped away some of the intimacy that this song was attempting to convey.
“John Hughes Movie” is another track that turned me off early on with its particularly over-the-top production, with the song’s pre-chorus leading to a sort of grandiose, elated electronic breakout that I felt like I’ve heard a hundred times before in other pop songs. (For what it’s worth,
"Elvis Song” felt like a superior older sister to “John Hughes Movie,” with the more measured production coming off as more appropriate given the song’s elated expression of a budding romance).
The album’s final moments feature a return to Peters’ original singer/songwriting form, giving the track
"Talking to Strangers” a more charming and intimate feeling, even if the lyrics paint Peters as someone who is constantly talking to strangers about the object of her affection (which puts her squarely in the camp of “people I try to avoid at all costs”). The album’s closer.
"Tough Act,” features a similar aesthetic. The piano-driven instrumentation helped bring out the impact of the chorus’ solid melody, even if the track as a whole was a bit too slow for me to enjoy fully.
Overall, while I had plenty of quibbles with this album, nothing came across as deal-breaking. Peters’ ear for a solid melody and a penchant for fun lyrical details made this record worthwhile for me. At times I was tempted to write Maisie Peters off as being overly derivative of Taylor Swift, with numerous production choices and lyrical quirks being clearly inspired by her. But I’m shelving that criticism, as I think Peters pulls off these details in a way that feels authentic and original. Plus, given Peters is a young woman who is transitioning from a singer/songwriter style to a more ambitious pop aesthetic, who could be a better role model for her to emulate?
ESSENTIAL TRACKS
“Boy”
“I’m Trying (Not Friends)”
