Groove-laden and subtly cinematic, Madison McFerrin’s sophomore album SCORPIO is intricate and endearing. Below, she talks Wonderland through it’s making and meaning.

From the very opening refrain of “Heartbreak”, the first track that blesses the stunning sophomore album from Madison McFerrin, the artist’s intention is clear — to overawe. Across SCORPIO, the acclaimed singer-songwriter uses her voice with purpose and nuance, an instrument as well as a guiding narrator, deftly spin webs of encompassing harmonies that complete and augment much of the subtle soul-tinged backdrops. 

It’s a work that is confident and exploratory, full of musical highlights and sticky songwriting; the produce of an artist fully accomplished in her lyrical vision and sonic ideology. To breakdown the record, McFerrin drops by Wonderland for the latest edition of our track-by-track series. 

Listen to the album…

Read the track-by-track…

Track 1 (Side A): “Heartbreak”

“Heartbreak” was one of the last songs I wrote on SCORPIO, but I instantly knew it was the opener. It goes on a musical journey that is very similar to my own – starting a cappella and gradually adding more instrumentation. Not only that, it sets the stage for the storytelling of the album, which is very important to me as a songwriter. It’s the full Madison McFerrin experience in a single track.

Track 2: “Ain’t It Nice”

When co-producers Julius Rodriguez and Maddi St John first played me the beat for “Ain’t It Nice,” I was hooked. I was having so much fun listening to the music that the melody and lyrics just flowed out of me. I was freshly single and dating when we wrote this and I wanted something that reflected that fun cat and mouse period that happens at the start of a new connection. The song is flirty and fun in an old school kind of way that I absolutely love – you can’t help but dance!

Track 3: “Fighting for Our Love”

Writing “Fighting for Our Love” was one of the most cathartic things I did while grieving my previous relationship. I remember feeling like this song was an emotional and musical breakthrough for me. Not only was I beginning to say all of the things I had never been able to, but the chord progression felt different and interesting. The addition of Willy Yanez on co-production and guitar really helped it become the little pop bop that it is. 

Track 4: “Please Forgive Me (Interlude)”

This interlude is actually taken from the audio of a video I’d posted of me playing the song I’d just written – “Heartbreak.” The following track, “I Don’t,” starts pretty abruptly and I wanted to give the listener a little breathing space. It’s also a call back to my debut album, I Hope You Can Forgive Me (which the album’s subject matter very well may not).

Track 5: “I Don’t”

The opening line, “We were s’posed to get married today” came to me when I was walking into my kitchen. It was 2 days before we were supposed to get married, but it was heavily on my mind. I remember immediately sitting down at the piano and figuring out the rest. Like with so much of this album, I felt like I was channeling from something beyond me. “I Don’t” is a bit cheeky, but that’s the point – it’s a laugh, an angry one, but a laugh no less. I think that element is actually attracted (fellow scorpio) WILLOW to co-produce the song – it’s that little bit of pettiness you want to display but don’t feel allowed to. Getting to hear her on the guitar part I’d written was a very fun moment for me.

Track 6: “Spent”

Andrew Lappin and I co-wrote “Spent” for my debut album, but I knew it didn’t fit sonically with I Hope You Can Forgive Me. It was too cool of a song to give up though, so it was always in the back of my mind. As soon as I started writing music for SCORPIO, I knew this track was going to fit right in. I wanted to go for an R&B Radiohead vibe, and I think we accomplished that. “Spent” closes out the A-side of the album on a high, which I always try to have for all of my vinyl listeners.

Track 7 (Side B): “Run It Back”

I go back and forth, but “Run It Back” might be my favourite song on the record. I wrote it late one night, hours before I was going to be hopping on a flight to Tokyo. Horniness is a pretty universal feeling, particularly when you’re single. This is essentially the drunk text you want to send, but definitely should not. Originally it was just going to be me on piano, but why do that when you can have the incredibly talented Cory Henry instead???

Track 8: “Lesson”

The 2 saddest songs on SCORPIO are also the hardest technically for me to sing (there’s a therapeutic analysis in there somewhere). I cried while writing “Lesson,” it struck that deep of a cord. This had been my first breakup, and after 8.5 years, there was a lot of grief to deal with. I was asking myself a lot of questions around why I had gone through such a difficult relationship, “Lesson” is all of that in song form. I knew I wanted significant strings on, so I brought on my friend JasmineFire (who also provided strings on “I Don’t”) for some added co-production. Grief is an important part of life, writing this song really helped me get through mine.

Track 9: “blue”

So the joke of it all is that I’m being dead serious when I say the refrain “but it seems it isn’t fair/when blue’s the only colour that you wear” – he very literally only wore blue. Because of that, it took me a second to not only associate that colour with him. I needed a blue detox, and my favourite way to detox anything is to write about it. It’s an intimate song, so my dear friend, Balam Garcia, and I got together to make this beautiful piece. Sometimes voice and guitar is all you need.

Track 10: “Over > Forever”

The baddie is back! Or at least that’s how I felt after I wrote “Over > Forever” I was done being sad and had moved onto anger. He was always angry and I never got to be, so this was all of that pent up energy finally coming out. And what better way to get out anger than to dance?? This song is full of happy accidents that made it as fun as it is, but it took awhile to get there. “Over > Forever” took my SCORPIO co-producer Zach Brown and I the longest to make, but the end result is one of my favourite songs to date and the focus track for the album.

Track 11: “Your Garden”

Like most of my songs, I originally wrote “Your Garden” on the piano. As soon as I flipped it into an a cappella track, I knew I had something. Harmony is my bread and butter, so I always have to have that showcased in one way or another. I shared it with Zach thinking it would stay just vocals, but we started jamming on it and I knew the beat had to come in at the end. It’s such a short, fun, easy bop to listen to – I can’t listen to it only once!

Track 12: “The End”

Funny enough, “The End” was actually the first song I wrote on SCORPIO (and while my ex and I were still together, no less). I had started emotionally checking out of the relationship after years of verbal and emotional abuse and writing this song was me beginning to process that. I wasn’t able to finish it until we had actually broken up, after which the rest poured out. And while I don’t actually hope he’s lonely in the end, that’s what my emotions wanted to say. But they also said, “oh, I hope you hold me in the end” – don’t we all want that.

Track 13: “[REDACTED]”

I needed to give y’all a little fake-out outro, and what better final stamp is there than teasing “I know you’re thinkin’ ‘bout me late at night.” The “[REDACTED]” title is a cheeky way of saying “this never happened.”