Izzy Thomas - MAD

If you’re looking for a song that roughly resembles Berlin’s ‘Take My Breath Away’ in the intro and pace, is perfect to dance to but is a simultaneously a ballad about emotional unavailability, then you must check out the latest release by London-based Izzy Thomas, ‘MAD’!

On the surface, this song seems as though Izzy Thomas is ‘MAD’ because there is someone out there who just will not admit that they want her. There is a sea of apathy and emotional repression out in the world so this is not a surprising scenario, however unfortunate that may be.

However, if one sits and watches the very interesting and visually appealing (albeit creepy) video that accompanies this track, one will discover, towards the end of the song, that it appears to be that Thomas is herself emotionally cut off in some way as another person shows up, lip-syncing the final words “you’re so full of it ‘cause you won’t admit that you want me”.

If we take both the song and video together it creates a very powerful message that not only is Thomas ‘MAD’ that everyone seems so closed off…they also feel the same way about her…and perhaps the final shot of her in the video is her realization that she too is emotionally unavailable.

Instrumentally, this tune plays like a more frenetic version of an 80s love ballad. ‘Take My Breath Away’ by Berlin is probably the best example of what this song matches up to, however, Thomas adds that element of anger and it really does change the focus of the song.

Truly beautiful either way, the slow-driving instrumentation underneath Thomas’ powerful and edgy vocals is classic and seems to link both past and present, much like the eternal battle over emotional release within and without us.