S.Lo on November 8th, 2019

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Rett Madison (née Madison Douglas) began impressing audiences with her reflections on love and identity at the tender age of 12 at talent shows in West Virginia. Having sharpened her skills in both songwriting and performance at Michigan’s Interlochen Arts Academy and the University of Southern California’s music program, Madison’s voice is searing in its honesty and clear in its intention.

Her new single, “Pin-Up Daddy,” reflects on growing up going through the motions of gender roles with parents who understood her tomboyishness yet also back-combed her hair high for the beauty pageant. “I wrote ‘Pin-up Daddy’ when I was starting to feel more confident in my sexual fluidity as well as my range in gender expression,” said the singer-songwriter. Her spirits begin to soar at the one-minute mark when she sings, “Cried the first time Dad looped a tie around my neck / Part of me I thought had died rose up to the surface / And on my birthday he gave me a suit that fit just right / I felt like his little girl and a young man at the same time.” It’s four lines that may help bridge an understanding between many kids and parents who grew up with more strict and split gender expressions.

By the chorus, Madison declares that her experience is fully human, “No matter what side of the bed I wake up on today / I still rise, I’m alive / I am everything / I don’t give a f*ck who the world thinks they’re looking at / I’m a pin-up daddy twirling in my heels with my hair slicked back.”

The tune is co-produced by Theo Katzman (Vulpeck), who is helping to midwife her forthcoming debut album while also covering drums and background vocals, with Devin Kerr mastering. The studio performance/lyric video (filmed by Nicol Biesek and edited by Tess O’Connor) also features Brian Jones on bass and Lee Pardini on the Wurlitzer.

||| Stream: “Pin-Up Daddy”

||| Live: Rett Madison performs with Scary Pockets (vocals) at the El Rey on Nov. 16 (tickets) and opens for Theo Katzman at the Fonda on Jan. 24 (tickets).