Maisie Peters - You Signed Up For This

by Zena Grieg

published: 22 / 9 / 2021

Label: Atlantic
Format: CD

Introspective debut album from Sussex singer-songwriter Maisie Peters which reflects on her ransition from adolescence into adulthood

Review

The debut album by the Sussex singer-songwriter Maisie Peters, who has been writing songs since age 12, has just been released. ‘You Signed Up For This’ is an introspective musical reflection on the transition from adolescence into adulthood, a mix of pop-rock with acoustic and folk. The first release under Ed Sheeran’s Gingerbread Man Records label, the 14-track collection spans different genres, from ballads to synth-laden pop with Sheeran co-writing three songs – ‘Psycho,’ ‘Boy’ and ‘Hollow’. Themes span falling in and out of love (‘Outdoor Pool’, ‘Elvis Song’, ‘Tough Act’, ‘Villain’, ‘I’m Trying (Not Friends)’ ), fantasy revenge (‘Volcano’) and memories of special moments with her sister Ellen (‘Brooklyn'). Peters said she wanted to write an album that “reflected everything that I love, and everybody that I love and all of the inspirations and musicians and places and people that have been really important and significant…. a lot of the songs are stories either from my life, my friends’ lives or from people around me… In some ways I’ve been making this album all my life.” Stand-out tracks include: the upbeat opening title track; the heartbreak song ‘John Hughes Movie’; the single and pop, synth- and drum-machine driven ‘Psycho’; the catchy, bass-heavy R&B ‘Boy’; ‘Hollow’, a bitter-sweet acoustic ballad with its sparse piano accompaniment; and the melodious, multi-layered ‘Brooklyn’. A sincere, relatable coming-of-age album, ‘You Signed Up For This’ with its Taylor Swift-inspired narratives and tongue-in-cheek lyricism, is an appealing precursor of the future for this rising new music star.

Track Listing:-

1 You Signed Up For This
2 I’m Trying (Not Friends)
3 John Hughes Movie
4 Outdoor Pool
5 Love Him I Don’t
6 Psycho
7 Boy
8 Hollow
9 Villain
10 Brooklyn
11 Elvis Song
12 Talking To Strangers
13 Volcano
14 Tough Act