Album Review: "Florescence" - Maisie Peters

Kaitlyn Nicole
15 minutes ago
8 min read

After the long awaited anticipation, Maisie Peters is finally back with her third studio album, "Florescence". Mixing her U.K. folk roots, unapologetic lyricism and magical pop flare, this could be her best work to date that just might have been worth the wait.

TRACKLIST

Mary Janes

Audrey Hepburn

Say My Name In Your Sleep

Old Fashioned

Houses

Kingmaker (with Julia Michaels)

Vampire Time

My Regards

You You You

If You Let Me (With Marcus Mumford)

Flat Earther

Questions

Girl's Just Flying

You Then Me Now

Nothing Like Being In Love

Maisie Peters is an English singer/songwriter who officially began releasing music in 2018. "Florescence" is her 3rd studio album release, following success of her debut album in 2021 "You Signed Up For This", and even bigger success, "The Good Witch", her sophomore album which released in 2023. Florescence quite literally defines as the blossoming stage of a flower. Maisie describes this album as the growth period between finding true love while healing and letting go of a past heartbreak. It's about learning what you deserve, what true love is supposed to look like, and maturing into the person you are meant to be. Maisie is known for her songwriting skills which has rich storytelling and emotional details. I'm excited to dive into these songs!

Mary Janes

Known for her incredible intro tracks, Maisie always uses track one on her albums to catch us up on how her life has been since we've last heard from her. Usually, it's the title track of the album, but this time she has broken the tradition with "Mary Janes". In this song she highlights how the material things as well as "looking the part" in the music industry and in society in general doesn't matter to her anymore because she has found someone who loves her for who she is; flaws and all. It's also a song to all the people who have brought her down or think they are better than her. Although she admits that things used to bother her (like the time people brought her down when she opened for The Eras Tour), it doesn't anymore. There's a sense of peace that comes with finding someone who loves you for exactly who you are.

Audrey Hepburn

Track two is "Audrey Hepburn", the first single that was released before the album. Titled after the iconic actress who was known for her natural beauty and kindness, "Audrey Hepburn" is a sweet and endearing love song about the peace that comes with finding the right person and being satisfied with the simple things. It's like being able to take the weight of the world off of your shoulders and take a breath of the freshest air. Nothing else in the world matters, because you have someone who genuinely wants your company. In this song, Maisie's love interest compares her bare face to Audrey Hepburn, a compliment that has stuck with her enough to write a song about it.

Say My Name In Your Sleep

"Say My Name In Your Sleep" is a soft-folk song that is quite literally haunting, but beautiful. This post-relationship track is about hoping that your presence lingers in your exes life, even though you're not physically there anymore. They left you hanging, so the best revenge you could give is little daily reminders that you still exist without even trying. They see you in the chair across the table when they eat breakfast in the morning, they smell you in their bedsheets, and they hear you in the music that plays on the radio. They thought they were escaping you by leaving, but ended up with regret.

Old Fashioned

The next track, "Old Fashioned", is about those guys who like to play the field and use the same old strategy every time to trick girls into thinking they're cooler than they actually are. This guy in particular goes to dive bars and jazz clubs, and claims to only drink old fashioneds, as if that somehow makes him more mature and attractive. Maisie calls him out, because she once was a victim of his tricks. She tells him "I wish you never happened", and if she could find him out there somewhere again messing with other girls, she'd throw his old fashioned glass at the wall. This song has a simple but beautiful instrumental with a kick-drum, downstrums and guitar patterns to create an emotional experience that focuses on the lyrics.

Houses

Marked as the first ever self-written song to make it on a Maisie Peters album, "Houses" claims the notoriously vulnerable spot, track 5. This acoustic ballad is bittersweet, emphasising the growth that comes with heartbreak, but also reflecting on the toxic environments you've escaped from. Maisie imagines the future she could've had if she had stayed with past lovers. She pictures what kind of houses they'd live in, what would be inside, and how they'd live, knowing that it wasn't the kind of life that she'd want if she had stayed.

Kingmaker (with Julia Michaels)

Co-written and sung with hit songwriter and artist Julia Michaels, "Kingmaker" calls out all the men that use good, vulnerable women to better themselves just to leave and be the dream man they created for another woman. Ladies, I feel like we've all been there. It's absolutely infuriating when we watch a man we've spent so much time and energy "fixing", be the man that we wanted him to be for someone else.

Vampire Time

A secret fan favorite is "Vampire Time", a song that Maisie had played before this album was even announced, leaving fans hopeful that it would be on the tracklist. It's a fun-loving, romantic song about having someone on your mind that you regret not taking the next step with, and you're hoping that it's not too late. You find yourself lying in bed at night and wondering about them, thinking about the moments that you had together, curious what they're doing right now, and if you'll ever get to see them again. It's a super upbeat, stomp-clap type of folk/pop track that'll have you singing along in no time.

My Regards

"My Regards" mixes Western and folk with a spy movie vibe and sensual vocals to create a fun song about claiming your man as your own and not letting anybody else touch him. This bop is full of confidence as Maisie sings of a love that is locked down. She sings, "God bless all of those other eyes; they can look but they can't ever touch". This song even comes with a super cool and fun line dance that you can learn.

You You You

"You You You" is about the lasting impact that a relationship has on someone; especially toxic ones. The trauma becomes ingrained in your DNA. Even if you don't want to think about them, you do. They've mentally and physically become a part of who you are in the worst way. Everything was about them, and even though they're gone now, it still is. "You You You" has a unique soundscape, blending an acoustic ballad foundation with an electronic production.

If You Let Me (With Marcus Mumford)

A stunning yet heartbreaking duet between Maisie and her album collaborator, Marcus Mumford (of Mumford & Sons), comes "If You Let Me". This song is about processing the grief of a breakup, and almost needing permission to forget and move on. Maisie and Marcus sing softly and beautifully together. It's a short, simple, but impactful track for the album.

Flat Earther

In the piano ballad "Flat Earther", Maisie Peters compares a way she used to love someone to the way that people obsess and fall into delusion with certain conspiracy theories; especially ones that have been disproven already. It's like no matter how much proof you show them that they're wrong, you can't get them to snap out of it. People will believe whatever they want to believe. In this case, Maisie was wearing rose colored glasses for someone who was trying to convince her that he was a better man than he really was. She sings a gorgeously emotional melody that sticks with you.

Questions

Right before the album dropped, Maisie began teasing this song, "Questions" and it instantly became a fan favorite. Everyone couldn't wait to hear the full track, knowing it was going to a banger and a half; and it is. It's one of those "word vomit" type of songs where lyrics just keep getting thrown at you in the best way overtop a super catchy pop production. "Questions" has a bit of sass but also a sense of happiness and closure when you finally realize you're over someone who still bothered you in the back of your mind. You've been able to find someone who has helped you figure out how you're supposed to be treated. So now, if for any reason you ever ran into the past lover in public, all those questions you used to want answers to from them wouldn't bother you anymore. You'd just walk right passed them without a second glance.

Girl's Just Flying

Perfectly transitioning from "Questions" is "Girl's Just Flying" which continues the theme of closure and moving on. There's a lot of growth and healing in this song that reminds me of "There It Goes" from Maisie's last album, "The Good Witch" (which I highly recommend listening to as well, by the way). There's a lot of lyrical genius moments in this song. I recommend just listening and taking it all in. There's more of a country flare to this song which is really fun as well. I will say I think my favorite line has to be "You lost sleep babe, I lost seasons".

You Then Me Now

"You Then Me Now" plays through the idea of how things would've been different if Maisie would've been the version of herself she is now while facing the guy who broke her heart now; also implying that men never really change, because he would still be the same now as he was back then. She sings of how much stronger she is now, compared to how unimportant and unnecessary his existence has been to her all along.

Nothing Like Being In Love

Last but certainly not least, we have "Nothing Like Being In Love", the final realization that now that you've finally found someone that truly loves you, everything you've experienced with people in the past wasn't really love. You can let go of all the things you've been through because it doesn't matter anymore. You can find peace in the person that has shown you what true care and happiness feels like. This one can be a tear-jerker, so just beware. It's a perfect, beautiful ending to this album.

I've been a big fan of Maisie Peters for a really long time now and I have always believed she is a highly underrated superstar. Her songwriting is so genuine and vulnerable, which is what makes it so relatable. Not only that, but I can personally attest that she is a firecracker on stage and has music in her bones. She was born to create and perform, and you can tell that she loves doing it. With this new album, "Florescence", she is showing us not only the growth she has made as an artist, but the versatility she has when it comes to doing different genres and styles. Maisie is a force to be reckoned with, and I hope that if you haven't given her music a chance yet, you will.

Written By Kaitlyn Nicole