On the 27th of March, UK-based artist Celeste Madden released her newest EP, Is It Really Goodnight?. Celeste herself explains she wrote the EP when she “felt like I couldn’t get through one thing without the next issue arriving, so I wrote songs as I worked through it,” This in-the-moment honesty is what characterises this deeply personal and intricate work that is well worth a careful listen to truly feel the countless nuances of feelings in it.
The EP opens with ‘Nightly Routine’. The song starts and concludes with longer moments of soft plucking instrumentals and humming, making it almost meditative to listen to. When the layered vocals start, these capture a vulnerable, through echoes, practically eerie feeling in line with what the song is about: trying to hold onto parts of a routine while not feeling much at all. Supported by more poetic descriptions of this feeling, the final thought is best captured in the concluding lyrics: “Everybody knows what’s wrong with me, but nobody knows what’s the matter”.
The energy picks up when both upbeat guitars and a drum beat sound in the next song, ‘Lapdog’. Intriguing about this track is that the lyrics reveal a certain anger in them, for example singing “you are a bee sting and you’re biting down hard, do you see colour in that dead end glance?” yet through the way the instrumentals and voice sound, this anger turns into other feelings: sadness, desperation, even acceptance. The instrumentals in this song can feel a bit overpowering to the vocals at times, and the more they are toned down, the better Celeste’s voice comes to light again, sounding fantastic in the last part of the song.
“I drove into a wall today, it was the greatest thing I ever did,” surely is a great way to grab attention for the next track. Through heavier instrumentals with higher-pitched guitars as a focal point, we are transported to the next part of the narrative, the increased instrumentals supporting the stronger feelings coming to light. Again, we can feel the theme of loss, but this time more self-awareness is woven through, talking about being a bad omen, and even “I’m really sorry for the songs I write about you”. When the higher-pitched guitars fade, the song feels heavier with the repeating lyrics.
This carries perfectly into the following track, ‘That’s My Boy’. The drums are softer in this song, which makes the vocals shine through the best, which is one of the most effective parts of this EP, as her clear voice can carry so much emotion. Repeating the line “That’s my boy” over and over again, there’s both desperation and sweetness in this track at the same time.
The tempo has been building up through the EP, arriving at its peak in ‘Fever Dream’. Instead of containing choruses, this song and its instrumentals build up to instrumental breaks in between verses, making this song a very interesting listen. Sounding a lot more upbeat, this song seems to be a lot more optimistic, but both the title and the lyrics show that the optimism that seems to shine through this song isn’t all that real, and instead more of a fever dream – wanting things to be real, but also knowing they are not, the desired but not yet achieved acceptance beautifully described through lines such as “Lift the latch on the safety lock, then hide under tables.” This contrast and the instrumental build-up make this one of the most outstanding songs on this work.
The EP draws to its end with the concluding track ‘Joan Of Arc’. In this song, the energy tones down again, sounding similar to the opening track, which nicely draws us into a circle to where we started. Both in placement and in meaning this song feels like a final stage: drawing to some acceptance, while deep down knowing that this feeling has not been reached: “Should be saying I moved on again, guess I forgot my line, down on both my knees but then, I’m not the begging kind.” Ending the EP with the words “bury me” repeated is both a devastating conclusion and a great testament of honesty.
In Is It Really Goodnight? Celeste Madden takes the listener along on a very honest and melancholic sounding testament of things felt precisely as they were in the moment. Her open and poetic songwriting both leaves room for interpretation as well as makes spot-on sense with explanations of the meanings. She has managed to capture the nuanced feelings of love and loss, shining light on the various emotions that come with this, well-supported through instrumentals, feeling right for the narrative and her clear and calming voice.
Written by: Marieke Weeda
Edited by: Ilse Muis
