And from a pair of ad-hoc duos to an established favorite…
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Alfred Soto: Salmon shorts and a white V-neck — yum. The girls and I share tastes in man-flesh. A sense of humor and for hot call and response guitar licks too. And the title variant on the greatest closing line in American film comedy (delivered by a cool Shirley MacLaine) comes after the girls have snarled their way through a response to a come-on that would’ve been the climax in lesser hands. Now this is Saturday night.
[7]
Jessica Doyle: Record “Shut Up and Fish” ten times and nine, I’ll bet you, the singer descends almost wistfully on “He said I’m pretty,” pausing for breath before building back up to “and it don’t get better than this.” Which would raise the possibility that she believes him, or at least wants to believe him, and that this whole insistence on fishing is just playing coy. Fortunately, we got the tenth version, where Maddie and Tae go up, twist their voices into a snarl, even, with the force of their contempt. It’s a smart move: brilliant, when you consider how much fun it’s going to be to snarl along while hitting the gas.
[7]
Thomas Inskeep: Love the ur-’90s country production on this, sounding like a Joe Diffie record, while Maddie & Tae deliver the attitude of early Dixie Chicks, only younger and spunkier. This sounds precious little like contempo country, and that’s alright; throwbacks to eras other than “classic” (aka ’60s/’70s) country can be great, too, as this proves.
[7]
Jonathan Bogart: Pop, like most art forms, will never be fully reconciled to itself until it understands that comedy is not a separate, lesser, thing, but one element among many of the varied, beating heart of human experience. Country does understand that, sort of (it’s one of the most enduring legacies of minstrelsy), but there’s still a tendency for carpetbaggers like me to think that country is only truly authentic when it’s wholly serious, if not absolutely tragic. Which is bullshit.
[7]
Micha Cavaseno: Not for nothing, all the additional punchlines aren’t nearly as good as the one that sells the chorus, so thank god that they cut to the chase during the second verse. But it’s sweet and delightful, and you can hear the sounds of every eye-roll. I just wish there was a bit more going on in the instruments behind this comedy routine. Or at least a sad slide-trombone for the “cold shower” line.
[5]
Anthony Easton: They still have the tight harmonics, and it is still a push back on masculinity, but it’s even better written than other work they have done. The line about the coke can especially.
[7]
Josh Langhoff: Who doesn’t wanna see inappropriate city douche get pushed in the lake? I knew Maddie & Tae had it in ’em, but I wasn’t expecting this much rollick from Dann Huff.
[7]
Crystal Leww: Maddie & Tae broke out last year with the bro country satirizing “Girl in a Country Song.” On “Shut Up and Fish,” they’ve gone the opposite direction, with a upbeat song about getting mad at their boyfriend for wanting to cuddle instead of shutting up and fishing. With the snottiness of Ke$ha, Maddie & Tae seem to have no interest in talking about their feelings or forevers, instead focused entirely on keeping their reeling hand free. There’s definitely a country edge to their attitude, with Maddie & Tae pointing out how he’s a “Red Corvette”-driving, “salmon shorts”-wearing “city guy.” They flip the expectation on its head: the girls are the ones who want to do typical bro shit like fishing instead of their dudes, who want to do typical chick shit like cuddling.
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