Madeline Merlo - ONE HOUSE DOWN (from the girl next door) EP (2024) Hi-Res

Vulnerable tunes from the British Columbia-born country singer. No one told Madeline Merlo – and it feels like the six songs that make up “One House Down (From The Girl Next Door)” is a bit of a statement of proof.

She’s been making records for a while, been on tv, and counted streams in the millions, but after moving to Nashville it feels like she’s moving to the big leagues. How else do you explain the presence of Dustin Lynch on the opening track: “Broken Heart Thing”? It’s sort of indicative of what Merlo does too. A break-up song with a difference.

“Bar Fight” is clever too, and another of the singles on the EP “Same Car” is cut from the same cloth. Like, you’ve heard this before but not quite.

Even more impressive, perhaps is that Merlo co-wrote all of these, and you feel that “Middle Of The Bed” is from the heart – either way, it’ll end up being an anthem.

Indeed, you could see all of these like that to be honest, “Good Grief” adds an edge of empowerment to things, and the feeling that she’s casting herself as something of an outsider in these things is in the title track and it’s breezy pop rock: “Might not have been mama’s first choice for her golden all-American boy” she sings, but who wants the homecoming queen anyway?

Authenticity is always more fun – and that’s what Madeline Merlo brings here.