“The Good Witch” Album Review: A Cathartic and Bewitching Tale of Moving On

Full of tenacity, magic, and reflection, Maisie Peters’ “The Good Witch” is a reclaiming of the heartbreak album, pushing beyond lamentation and into empowerment in the face of loss.

Anticipation for the album was high among Peters’ fans who followed along as the artist teased each track through weekly tarot card posts on Instagram. Across 15 weeks of promotion, Peters explored the process of creation and the themes of each song on the tracklist of “The Good Witch.”

“This song has so much of my heart in it,” Peters said of the album’s title track in her Instagram post. “The track is fueled by romantic vision and rooibos tea, it really is the calm before the storm.”

A beginning that feels more like an ending, “The Good Witch” sets listeners off on a journey looking towards the past, balancing rumination with vigor. The lyrics “still me here, do you think I forgot about you? / still upset but now I’m 22” backed by a melodic piano see Peters at the end of her story, before the drums enter in the second verse and she asserts “I light another candle and I chant under my breath / ‘that I will try forgiveness but I will not forget.’” Along with this allusion to spell-casting, the outro pays homage to Peters’ past, featuring clips from fans, roommates, and others close to her — thereby bringing them into the universe of “The Good Witch.”

“Coming of Age” follows with a poppy beat and themes of reexamining the power other people can have in your life. A brief and seemingly lighthearted track, “Coming of Age” affirms that Peters is moving on from her relationship and becoming herself. The striking buildup in the second half of the bridge hammers this message home, with Peters declaring “I know I made you the big star / I let you butcher my big heart / But it’s my song and my stage.”

Moving on isn’t easy for Peters however, as “Want You Back” grapples with the pressure to let go of harmful relationships despite still caring so deeply about them. The melodic, almost twinkling piano bookending the track contrasts the dynamic second verse and bridge, effectively illustrating this tension and eventual resolution.

“The Band And I” is a nostalgic love letter to Peters’ first month-long North American tour for her album “You Signed Up For This.” Reminiscing about the “12 bed bus,” “midnight stops at border control,” and “living in the Little Rock laundry room,” Peters is thankful for the chaos she encountered and memories she made on tour. Accompanied by her band, Peters’ vocals and the song’s stripped down production result in a simple homage to March 2022.

The seventh track off the album finds Peters yet again declaring that she’s not making excuses for people anymore and instead prioritizing herself. Though “You’re Just A Boy (And I’m Kinda The Man)” brings humor to this affirmation with lyrics like “I take in clowns like a one-woman circus,” it’s ultimately a powerful assertion of self-worth and not letting people hold you back.

“Run” presents a scornful view of love and leans into the pain of heartbreak — arguably too far. While stoic assertions that “He hates a sentence when he has to mean it” in the bridge are snide and relatable in times of angry heartbreak, others lines sound too outlandish even in the confines of a cynical breakup anthem. “If he makes you smile, he’s blocked” gets the point of skepticism across but is too nonsensical despite the dark nature of the song.

Ending with “There It Goes” and “History Of Man,” Peters provides closure for the album by detailing her healing and looking at her relationship from a broader perspective while returning to the themes explored in other tracks. In “There It Goes” we find Peters content and moving forward, with her vocals dynamically steady and lyrics resolving the love she had, pain she experienced, and feeling truly happy about where she is now instead of pining for the past.

Drawing on references to ancient tales, “History of Man” paints the picture of a flawed relationship unable to change — a story that repeats throughout the history of mankind. From Helen of Troy to Samson and Delilah, Peters illustrates the universal experience of unequal love. Melodically the same as the album’s first track “The Good Witch,” the song leaves listeners seemingly back where they started. Yet the song’s final lines show growth, with Peters saying “You’ll lose the best you ever had / it’s the history, the history of man.” She’s aware of this timeless tale that’s bigger than her and ultimately rises above to focus on herself.

With potent lyrical storytelling and robust instrumentation, it’s no surprise the album charted at number 1 in the UK and made Peters the youngest female British artist in nine years to hold that spot. An exploration of personal growth and self-acceptance, “The Good Witch” brings some much-needed magic and hope to heartache.

—Staff writer Anna Moiseieva can be reached at anna.moiseieva@thecrimson.com.