Dissolve, the latest single from Salt Lake City’s The Madeline, starts with what sounds like a door opening. It’s eerie and uncertain, setting the mood for the entire song. As clean guitar notes come ringing into focus, the door feels like it has shut behind you. Now there is no going back.
The Madeline makes superb use of repetition to build tension as the clean guitar repeats its motif. In contrast, eerie swells and drones of guitar and synth surround from all sides. Vocals saturated in reverb come hauntingly to the forefront. A screed against the corruption of organized religion, Dissolve’s lyrics are poetic, yet accusatory, searing you with a sense of hurt and betrayal. The tension builds until, suddenly, the storm clouds open.
Guitars become heavier and distorted, even as echoes of the earlier motif continue. The drums and bass build in intensity, but slowly. While The Madeline’s sound is heavily shoegaze/noise/lo-fi, they are clearly and openly influenced by doom and drone genres. Everything is about building the intensity, bringing you to the edge of resolution before leaving you breathlessly wanting more. It’s the mark of a great band.
By the time Dissolve reaches its crescendo with the howling question, “Where is your forgiveness now?”, the guitars sound less like stringed instruments and more like chainsaws, revving engines, and squealing tires. Then, as the song slowly fades out, the clean guitar comes back into focus, and you hear just the hint of a door handle being turned. You’ve been released.
Begun as a one-person project by B Zitting, a mainstay of the vibrant SLC music scene, The Madeline has taken complete form as a five-piece band. Dissolve is the lead single from their upcoming double EP, Peaceful Uncertainty / With Senses Wide Open, which will be released with a live show on July 21, 2025. You can listen to (or purchase) Dissolve, as well as their previous releases, on Bandcamp. With a defined sound that is capable of evolving around their influences, The Madeline is an up-and-coming band that is worth keeping an ear out for.
Written by Dylan Steele
