Where most girls in their early teens are pouring on gallons of perfume and layers of makeup, Maz Totterdell is altogether different. Boasting an impressive and storied history that most veterans would be jealous of, Totterdell is making very big, very public waves as one of the youngest, freshest emerging UK talents.
As clichéd as it may be, Totterdell possesses a wisdom and insight that stretches way beyond her tenderly few years. Her debut album, Sweep, arrives amongst a furore of potential and high praise. Her CV is impressive, a back catalogue of over forty original pieces, writing songs since she was eleven and a final appearance in UK Unsigned. All of this before her sixteenth birthday.
Beginning with the album’s lead single, ‘Counting My Fingers’, listeners are immediately introduced to this folk infused pop. Totterdell’s fragile, savagely honest voice feels like a dandelion seed floating effortlessly through the air of some Devonshire meadow.
‘Kaleidoscope’ and ‘Blushing Bride’ are two highlights of the album. Both display Totterdell’s tender purity that would melt even the stoniest heart. As listeners are taken through the various poetically painted and image intensive ballads, the vigour and naive belief of the teenager becomes strangely infectious.
Sweep closes with ‘Little Puzzle’, a soft tempo, upbeat track that has more than a little influence of Thea Gilmour ladened through its lyrics. Like an altogether more pleasant, easier on the ears Lilly Allen, the album serves as perfect background music fodder.
There is often an underlying, belittling problem with acts like Maz Totterdell. Her talent is unquestionable. The sheer moxy and courage of someone so young to venture into the cutthroat world of show business should also be celebrated. But it is this very fact that leaves Totterdell open to criticism and high expectation.
In a musical world that is saturated with young, talented musicians who sing wistfully of life’s little foibles, it is hard for the audience to distinguish one from the other. Totterdell’s youth is her marquee selling point. But it is also her biggest Achilles heel. At just fifteen years young she will no doubt ignite the paying public’s interests and curiosities. Bringing out the so called “freak show” crowd who wish to see the talent, of which there is plenty, in an otherwise extraordinary set of circumstances.
The real test for Totterdell is whether she can make the leap from mild curiosity to successfully recognized artists. Not merely as the incredibly young, good for her teenager. But as the multi-talented, musically professional artist she appears to be.
As debut albums go, Sweep is a mediocre offering. There is nothing outlandishly special about the songs featured nor the way they are delivered. Listeners are spoiled for choice when it comes to confessional tales of ruined teenage romance and dreams. Why would they pick Totterdell over anybody else other than the fact she is only fifteen?
A great shame perhaps that the gimmick by which she will no doubt sell albums could prove to ironically and ultimately be what denies her success. What Maz Totterdell has on her side, however, is time and plenty of it. Standing on the very cusp of what could prove to be a long and illustrious career, things can only get better.