Rett Madison’s new album, One for Jackie, pays tribute to her mom, who passed by suicide in
2019, leaving her only child with an unbearable sense of responsibility to understand her mother
better as she mourned her. “My mom struggled with depression, PTSD, and alcoholism all my
life, but her death was shocking and unexpected,” Madison says. “Writing this album, I was
moving through grief; it was part of my healing process.”
Over 12 songs, Madison distills the weeks and months following her mother’s death, drawing
inspiration from the storytelling she admires in Appalachian folks traditions of her home state,
West Virginia, the ‘70s output of Bob Dylan and Dusty Springfield, as well as the music her
mother raised her on. Beyond borrowing from the past, One for Jackie cements itself as a
modern American classic, for fans of acts like Angel Olsen, Phoebe Bridgers, and Brandi Carlile.
While Madison describes her debut, Pin-Up Daddy, as a collection of songs she’d sporadically
written between the ages of 19 and 21, without a single underlying narrative tying the tracks
together, One for Jackie is a story best heard front to back, preferably played loud. Recorded in
Tornillo, TX at the storied Sonic Ranch and produced by the Grammy Award-winning Tyler
Chester, One for Jackie further elevates Madison’s dextrous musicianship, while her singular
voice commands a room from the outset on opening piano ballad “Jacqueline." Her lyrics are at
once gutting, openhearted, and wry, giving listeners a multifaceted look at the irreducible process
of grieving such immense loss.
The collaboration between Madison, Chester, and an assortment of studio musicians creates a
seamless vision, as Madison’s already exceptional guitar and piano playing are joined by synths,
assorted percussion instruments, strings, organ, mournful slide guitar, and more. The guilt of
having lost a parent to suicide, and not being able to prevent that death, haunted Madison. “My
lyrics are pretty confessional and straightforward,” she says. “I want these songs to find people
who have been in this situation and need to be reminded that it’s not their fault, and it’s normal to
have conflicting feelings.” Storytelling is a part of Madison’s cultural inheritance, and
throughout One for Jackie, she openly takes on the perspective of others, imagining herself into
moments she never experienced firsthand. “How it All Began” sounds off to early Springsteen,
as Madison envisions Jackie’s young adulthood, while the album’s spare and heartrending
acoustic closer, sung by Iron & Wine, finds Jackie speaking directly to her daughter, who she
called “Kiki.” One for Jackie gives the listener an uncanny sense of familiarity, as if immersing
ourselves in Madison’s grief, in her memories, allows us to know a little bit of Jackie, too. This is
a testament to Madison’s lyricism; she is specific, exacting, and wise even in her most unguarded
moments. In death, we tend to flatten people, turn them saintly and pure and faultless, but One
for Jackie does something better: it brings her to life.