“Curb Appeal” by Jay Madera is a Poetic Anthem to the Catharsis of Moving On

JayMadera1_sm — Jay Madera, photo courtesy the artist

With “Curb Appeal” Jay Madera sounds as though he’s finally able to be philosophical about a past love while realizing he’s been able to move on and talk about the experience with some poetic analysis. Like a break-up song in the past tense and some personal emotional time travel as though a more objective observer looking down on the situation and assessing the personalities, his own included, with a sense of compassion informed by an acerbic wit. The changes throughout the song lays out the drama in a way that keeps drawing you further into the song. Sure, Madera sings great lines like “she could cure my cancers then give me the common cold” and “she’s not benign” but he also goes into his own shortcomings and misapprehensions about his own life and the people in it as well as questioning the nature of the desires that have driven him. The song is anthemic while also deeply introspective and the contrast gives it an striking emotional power especially when combined with Madera’s gift for song dynamics between piano, vocals and percussion in a way that seems familiar but only in that anyone with any thoughtfulness has felt similarly but has yet to articulate to themselves what Madera expresses so beautifully and succinctly here—that the folly of our lives is rooted within and that it’s okay to be upset at others and at yourself but in the end make no villains of anyone and moving on with grace is a natural outcome. Listen to “Curb Appeal” on Soundcloud and follow Madera at the links below.