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Madi Diaz, 'Resentment'

On her upcoming album History of a Feeling, Nashville singer-songwriter Madi Diaz examines a particularly complicated breakup in clear-eyed, painful detail. Much of the album addresses the particularities of letting go when a lover really must depart — Diaz's former partner transitioned in 2017 and their love affair did not survive. Diaz takes the listener inside this seismic experience in spare arrangements that put her tender vocals high in the mix.

"Resentment" is the album's most brutal and beautiful close-up. In spare detail that reveals how an ugly emotion builds, Diaz captures the way resentment can eat at a person, replicating itself until the feeling can't be overcome. You might be familiar with the version of "Resentment" that Kesha released on her album High Road, with harmonies from Sturgill Simpson and the Beach Boys legend Brian Wilson; originally co-written with Wrabel and Jamie Floyd, Diaz reclaims this most personal song in a way that makes it feel like a confession spoken into a mirror.

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Ann Powers is NPR Music's critic and correspondent. She writes for NPR's music news blog, The Record, and she can be heard on NPR's newsmagazines and music programs.