Rejecting Stereotype on Madxsen’s Debut PROTOFEMCELCORE LP
“Have you ever been hysterical? That’s PROTOFEMCELCORE.”
“Have you ever felt diminished by gender stereotypes? That’s PROTOFEMCELCORE.”
“Have you ever realized, despite all adversity, that you can stand on your own two feet?” asked back Madysen Moreno, the solo force behind Santa Clara, CA project Madxsen, when pressed by Wormbrain World to explain her first full length. “That’s PROTOFEMCELCORE.”
Self-released earlier this year by Madxsen, PROTOFEMCELCORE recalls the lyrical witticism of Sidney Gish and Thanks For Coming, tangling bright sounds with gritty reality. The meta-fueled, bop-saturated debut Madxsen LP follows a series of singles and collaborations, affirming Moreno as a self-proclaimed #popsellout.
“It’s the rejection of stereotype by radically embracing it; while PROTOFEMCELCORE means one thing to me, it can mean something else to you.”
“It’s a total joke,” Moreno told W.W in all seriousness, “but it’s totally not.”
PROTOFEMCELCORE’s album artwork feels somehow both groundbreaking and obvious, a “lost pet” flyer for an underdog indie pop album.
“One day I was taking a long walk around my neighborhood, and I saw a flier for a lost dog,” Morendo shared. “I thought to myself, ‘What a great way to get someone’s attention.’ It was in that moment I knew I had to create my own missing cat poster, and thus the PROTOFEMCELCORE album art was born.”
Don’t worry though, Wormbrain World readers. Madxsen assured us that no pets were lost in the making of the album artwork.
“The cat is Zuzie, my sweet little cherub. She is my best friend and we hang out together every day.”
“It’s a total joke — but it’s totally not.”
Wormbrain World asked Madysen Moreno which Madxsen songs from PROTOFEMCELCORE they would choose to play for a selection of new listeners — here are the recommendations she told us:
For her sixteen-year-old self: “I’d show 16 year old Madysen ‘Please Look At Me.’ She was angsty and would’ve thought ‘Wow, this is Real music.’”
For a stranger who asks what her music sounds like: “‘60’, without a doubt.”
For a big shot record executive with five minutes to spare: “‘Moving My Feet,’ so I can hopefully move my feet into the spotlight.”
For a person from 1888, the day after they recorded the first song in history: “‘Long Walks.’ I hope they’d take a real long walk after listening.”
Photo courtesy of the artist.
W.W: What is Wormbrain?
MM: Wormbrain is a pesky little guy that crawls into my nose every night. Wormbrain makes me snore.
W.W: Thank you for sharing with Wormbrain.
Madxsen’s debut album PROTOFEMCELCORE is out now everywhere streaming digitally online.
