- The Good Witch is the second studio album for British singer-songwriter Maisie Peters and even though it feels like a breakup album, there is something uplifting and magical about it. In the lead up to the upcoming release Peters has been promoting the album on her Instagram with a tarot card countdown and twenty-seconds clips for each of the fifteen tracks. There is a real coming-of-age feeling to the release -which, coincidentally, has a track of the same name- and it's pretty clear why Maisie’s pop stardom has risen like the mercury on a hot summer’s day.

This new record follows on from her 2021 debut You Signed Up For This and once again it demonstrates emotional versatility and insightful melodies. There are clear Taylor Swift influences in the sound and since the album created alongside such producers as Swift collaborator Oscar Gorres, Two Inch Punch (who worked the boards for Sam Smith) and Joe Rubel (chums with Ed Sheeran) it’s easy to see how that might have come about.

The title-track to The Good Witch, is also its opener and it sounds like it belongs in a Disney movie or your standard romcom. It’s lyrical and romantic, with whimsical piano, plenty of heart and a sweet yet introspective feeling; almost as if it’s the calm before the storm.

Body Better is the first single from the album and it’s one of those ones that will make you want to dance and cry at the same. At the end of any relationship there’s always a time when you wonder if the other person is thinking of you while they are with someone else and Peters has put all those emotions into this relatable and catchy pop banger.

There are some great songs on this album, Coming of Age feels a little bit rock'n'roll; Wendy is an ode to Peter Pan; Lost the Breakup is a quirky, rhythmic dedication to a girl who is still a little hurt, a little bitter and isn’t quite over it, but she will be. Two Weeks ago is another bittersweet slow burner. Raw, honest and vulnerable and Aussie songstress Gretta Ray does the backing vocals which blend well with Maisie’s soft, signature sound. I am slightly disappointed that there aren't more of the pop-rock stylings that Peters' 2022 single Not Another Rockstar had; but there's plenty of compensation along the way.

When I realised that this was a breakup album with more than a passing resemblance to a Taylor Swift record, I had some misgivings; but it’s pretty nice. Is it a good witch, or a bad witch? Well, it's The Good Witch.

- Andrea Peirce.