Unfolding the Story of Madison Beer

Breakdown of the artist’s newest album, “Life Support”

Madison+Beer+performing+in+2019.

Photo by Justin Higuchi (Creative Commons)

Madison Beer performing in 2019.

Madison Beer’s new album, “Life Support” is truly something out of this world. Between the catchy tunes, significant messages and incredible vocals, this album could be a game-changer for the star.

As stated during her interview on the Zach Sang Show, after having to overcome being dropped by her first record label at just the age of sixteen, and her current label continuously pushing the drop of her debut album, “Life Support,” for over a year, she finally decided to take action and release the album on February 26.

This album consists of pop, and some R&B aspects as well. When creating the album, she drew a lot of inspiration from artists that she admires such as Lana Del Rey, Ariana Grande, Daft Punk, Tame Impala and Radiohead

While listening to the album, I found myself really getting lost in the lyrics. In the 17 track album, she discusses mental health, heartbreak, finding confidence and toxicity. Every single song is very raw and vulnerable, which was nice because it helped me to learn more about Beer as a person. 

Nowadays, you want to be able to connect with music because that’s the only way to connect with the world. I found myself relating to songs and seeing myself in them, which made them more special to me. The album starts off with “The Beginning,” a song compiled of nothing but echoing harmonies. This creates an ominous and haunting, yet somehow angelic vibe at the start which helps to set up the rest of the songs really well.

A few songs after that is a song titled “Stay Numb and Carry On.” Beer talks about putting up a wall and not feeling due to being hurt so many times: “I’ve become emotionless/My heart can’t help but wonder where the feeling is.” This song connects to the more haunting tone in the album, as does another song titled “Follow The White Rabbit.”

In the excellent “Blue,” she expresses her emotions through colors. She talks about how despite her and her lovers’ relationship being beautiful, they were bound to end after seeing so many red flags: “We were like a California sunset/Fated to die any minute.” 

The interlude titled: “Interlude,” explores the use of voice effects, and Beer talks about not belonging to anyone: “Baby I just wanna be someone/But I don’t want to just be someone to you/Only you/I’m not for you.”

The more vulnerable tracks such as “Selfish,” “Effortlessly” and “Default” were very transparent. You could hear the pain in Beer’s voice, which made them that much more personal. The more empowering tracks like “Baby,” “Good in Goodbye” and “BOYS***” made me feel confident and very feminine. Although, I will say that “Good in Goodbye” is one of my lesser favorites. It’s a good song; however, it does not compare to the others.

In “Homesick” Beer talks about not feeling like she belongs: “These ain’t my people/Ain’t my crew/It ain’t my planet/These humans speak my language/Still don’t understand it.” The song closes with an excerpt from Beer’s favorite show: Rick and Morty

On the outstanding, “Sour Times,” one of the more upbeat songs on the album, Beer goes on to criticize men that take advantage of women while they’re in a vulnerable state: “Ain’t even in my right mind/And you think that’s a green light/And that just doesn’t seem right.” The use of cymbals is heard all throughout the track.

Moving onto a more vulnerable track, “Stained Glass,” Beer talks about how fragile and insecure she’s become after being hurt, judged and tyrannized by the industry: “My skin is made of glass/ But apparently it’s stained/Cause you notice all the cracks/But can’t look inside my pain.” The song even includes the sound of breaking glass, which was very interesting because it was different and not something that I have heard before.

She uses incredible wordplay throughout the entire album. It is heard all throughout the powerful “Emotional Bruises,” about wanting to officially leave a toxic relationship that leaves you feeling emotionally drained after going back time after time: “Was about to write you this letter/But it was just curses in cursive” and “For the first time/Let this be the last.” 

Following right after that is definitely a standout track titled “Everything Happens for a Reason.” This track starts off with birds chirping which creates an innocent and peaceful tone. Beer stated that this song was more of a freestyle. She discusses being confused as to why a relationship ended and how she just can’t seem to get over this person: “ What in the world did I do to deserve such a pain in my heart/Guess it’s true/I’m never getting over you.”

The last track, “Channel Surfing/ The End” is a collection of fun moments from the recording process of the album. It includes bits and pieces from each song, as well as the recording of “Dear Society,” a single that Beer dropped over a year ago that did not make it onto the album. You can hear laughter throughout, and it ends by Beer giggling while saying: “Thank you so much.” A very fitting ending. 

Beer has successfully made her voice heard in this album and she has a very bright career ahead of her. Every song is very cohesive and tells a story; a story of heartbreak and mental health which is something that all teenagers and even young adults can relate to. I’m more than excited to see where her next album goes.