Natalie Madigan’s new single “6 Strings” makes my short list of best songs of 2023. It’s the first single from Natalie’s upcoming YANG EP – and it feels like a perfect fit for a Quentin Tarantino or David Lynch movie. It makes you immediately picture sprawling western vistas, much like the Chris Isaak classic “Wicked Game”.
The Nashville-based artist notes that “my boyfriend played the 12-string guitar on a few of my songs on the YIN EP. He has a band called Drummingbird that’s in the Americana/indie rock realm, but he loves country/western music. So I wanted to incorporate those western sounds into this song while staying in my artistic lane. I brought the idea to Jon Buscema last summer while I was out in LA and he really helped bring my vision to life. We pulled some slide guitar inspiration from Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon and then added the whistle parts to reflect the old country/western feel. I brought the song Jon and I had worked up to my EP producer Ben Didelot, and the song really started to fill out from there. I wanted the song to feel like a hot, carefree, barefoot summer night with your lover, and I think we were able to achieve that.”
“6 Strings” also gets my vote for best whistling in a pop song, easily eclipsing Britney Spears’ “I Wanna Go” and Maroon 5’s “Moves Like Jagger.” Says Madigan: “I actually did all the whistling on the track. It took a lot of tries, but I’m happy I was able to do it.”
As you might expect, Natalie’s YANG EP will sound nothing like its predecessor YIN, released earlier this year. “The YANG EP will be somewhat of a departure for me, as I wanted the project to be more upbeat, dreamy, and innovative,” says Madigan.
Listen to “6 Strings” below, or find it on the streaming platforms.
