Singer-songwriter Madalean Gauze depicts the reality of “American War”

There’s a lot going on in Madalean Gauze‘s “American War”. The Philly singer-songwriter sings “I’ll give you everything, but you can’t take my mind”. War is certainly a sensitive topic but Gauze won’t let her thoughts and perceptions of it be spoon-fed to her. Then, “the bad man’s coughing up blood and everybody’s fine” lyric may point to how much the public can tolerate enemy suffering, adhering to an us vs. them mentality.

For a few seconds, we get a happy “Sgt. Pepper”-esque melody shift before it jolts back into its original shape and finds Gauze proclaiming “see everything looks fine, when you’re locked inside a lie/ but the lie is the center of the war” leading to a bombastic instrumental break.

Although the music alternates between loud and quiet, one thing remains constant: Gauze’s stellar voice that’s as pleasant as a songbird juxtaposed with the conflict she sings of. Listen below and check out the rest of American War EP – which features Dave Hartley and Pat Berkery of The War on Drugs, and Dean Sabatino and Dandrew Stevens of Dead Milkmen – via Bandcamp here.