Locket by Madison Beer — An Album Review That Hits Where It Hurts
- LJ Portnoy
- 12 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Article contributed by LJ Portnoy
Madison Beer’s new album Locket feels like being let into something private. The album moves gently, almost carefully, through heartbreak and loss, never forcing big moments but letting emotion build naturally. There’s a softness to it that makes the heavier moments hit harder, and a sense that every track belongs exactly where it is. This is Madison Beer at her most vulnerable and most confident, all at once.
locket theme — opening the door
Very pretty. No chorus. Short, intentional, and quietly powerful.
It immediately sets the tone for the entire album: soft, ethereal, big harmonies, huge vocal layers stacked on top of each other.
It almost floats. It gives subtle bad enough vibes, which already feels like foreshadowing. This track sets up the story Locket paints: heartbreak, loss, and losing someone we care deeply about. It doesn’t overstay its welcome. It just opens the door.
yes baby — the beginning (before it breaks)
This one kicks things off in a totally different way, space-y, vibe-y, club-adjacent. It feels like the pre-relationship song, right at the beginning, when everything feels exciting and endless. The trance-like “yes baby” repeats throughout the chorus, building and building, until it suddenly simplifies.
A really nice backbeat gets added in the second verse, grounding the track just enough. It’s hypnotic, almost trance-adjacent, and pulls us right into that early-love haze.
angel wings — early-2000s heartbreak, reimagined
This track brings it back down softly. The vocaloids immediately feel very early-2000s-coded, like a heartbreaking ballad that would’ve lived on repeat in a bedroom. The pre-chorus and chorus have a vibe, and the lyrics hit hard.
“How I’m supposed to answer when they check on me?”
Near-rhyming tragedy and angel wings is literal icon status. The mix is beautifully arranged. It never explodes sonically, but it doesn’t need to. Then the ending flips the tone completely—a full 180 that keeps us actively listening through the entire track.
for the night — knowing better, going back anyway
One of the top tracks on the album. The chord progression is gorgeous. This one leans more Adele or Amy Winehouse than pop, and it really earns
Madison her R&B lane instead of boxing her into a straight pop category.
Vocally, there are so many interesting moments here. Lyrically, it’s about going back to a love we already know isn’t good for us, but still not being able to stay away.
bad enough — the crown jewel
The number one song on the album. The entire reason this album review exists. Because more people need to know this song exists. This track sounds like the opening of a movie. Sonically, it’s one of those favorite feelings. It’s pure ear candy and something we desperately need more of in 2026. The harmonies and ethereal layers are unreal.
“It’s not bad enough to let my baby go—go.” Those “go”s hit every single time.
It feels like transcending into another land of music magic. This is the best song on the album, no debate. The richness, the levels, the swirling layers, it’s an ear-candy symphonic dream.
healthy habit — repeating the cycle
Another vibe switch, but in the best way. Still part of the same story, still about the person that broke her heart, but framed differently. “And I wonder if it’s worth doing it again” absolutely rips at the chest. “Kissing random boys and pretending they’re you” lands with that shared realization of,
yeah… she’s been there with us.
There’s also a moment that sounds almost like a fight recording layered in, subtly hinting at how turbulent this relationship really was.
you’re still everything — loving someone who’s gone
The second favorite track on the album. The chorus alone is still everything. It’s devastating and pure and somehow feels good in the worst way. This tells the truest story for anyone who’s loved and lost and never fully let go. It operates on a different emotional wavelength.
An insane track that deserves to be streamed loudly and endlessly, hit play, it won’t disappoint.
bittersweet — pop heartbreak, front and center
This one lives right in the immediate breakup moment. It feels fresh, raw, and fully inside the pain. Since it was released as a single before the album, that timing checks out, it feels like it was written earlier than some of the deeper cuts.
It’s a bop, but the lyrics still carry the weight of real heartbreak.
This pulls Madison back into a pop-centric sound where she shines, though the bigger R&B risks across the album tend to hit harder.
complexity — where it stumbles (just a little)
The intro feels almost video-game-adjacent, nostalgic, swirly, and playful. The beat falters a bit here, making this the weakest track on the album, but it’s still a decent listen overall. Nothing bad, just overshadowed by stronger moments elsewhere.
make you mine — the hit everyone knows
This one is everywhere. The opening bars hook instantly. It is dance-y, almost EDM, with R&B-inflected vocals. No argument here, this is the most popular track on the album, and it’s easy to see why.
nothing at all — the quiet aftermath
A soft, vulnerable closer. Madison bares it all, love, loss, and everything in between. Her vocals really shine, especially as the second chorus builds into something almost dance/EDM-adjacent. It feels like the quiet aftermath of everything we’ve just experienced.
Final Thoughts: Madison Beer's Locket
Locket has major artistic highs and only a few moments that fall flat (really just one track). The growth, vulnerability, and risks Madison takes here are undeniable. Vocally, she’s spot on as always.
This album feels like a knockout and a diary entry we were allowed to read.
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