Madlen Keys opens “Ubik” with a Siouxie-esque, murky tranquility before it all elevates into borderline cacophony to reflect the shift of emotions that runs through the song. The brooding opening of the music gives way to layered, discordant passages and back and forth like its charting the central conflict of the song between expressive self-assertion and melancholic introspection. It’s a song of contrasts of noisy and ethereal melodic, minor chord progressions and traditional song structure and tone. Named after a 1969 Philip K. Dick novel, “Ubik” is about mental illness and the confusing narratives it can run through the brain swinging one’s psychology from great activity to stasis and how it can feel and often is beyond the control of the sufferer. But most people deal with bouts of mental illness in periods of great stress and emotional challenge in their lives. “Ubik” feels like running that gauntlet of moods and working through it. Listen to “Ubik” on Spotify and follow Madlen Keys at the links below.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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