Maddie Medley Swings Around the Messiness of Love on “Wild Parts”

Written during her first trip to Los Angeles, “Wild Parts” is a song that followed Maddie Medley all the way back home to Nashville, where she ended up writing the bridge with Briston Maroney. “Wild Parts” marches measuredly alongside Medley’s sultry vocals, telling a story of desire and the unpredictability of love.

“The song is about the inconvenience of falling in love,” shares Medley, “and making the choice to trust someone new with all of your B.S.”

Traipsing through dreamlike sequences, the video, directed by Jacq Justice, moves in tune with the tunnel-like vision of the track. “I came up with the video concept shortly after recording it,” says Medley. “The masked girls behind me represent my wild parts—the different versions of myself that I bring along with me everywhere that I go.”

“Wild Parts” is the first release following Medley’s 2020 debut EP Coming of Age, Pt. 1, the start of Medley’s own reflections on love and the confusion and awkwardness transitioning into adulthood on its title track, while “Buzz” explores self discovery, and “Edith,” a track Medley wrote when she was 17 and had just lost her grandmother, questions what it means to be a woman.

Unraveling more real-life stories, and all her “messy” emotions, Medley continues to piece together Coming of Age, Pt. 2.

“Normally I write when I’m upset or dealing with some other strong feeling, and I have to just stop and shut off my brain and get it all out,” says Medley. “In my life there have been so many songs I’ve listened to when I’m in pain or feeling really low, and those songs have sort of devastated me but also made me feel so understood. If I have one hope for my music, it’s that it provides some kind of healing for people and maybe helps them to understand themselves better.”

Medley adds, “The song is very simple, but I do feel like there’s a weirdness beneath it, and I think the video captures that super well.”