Apr 15, 2021
The Perfect Spring Album
A Review of Middle Kids' second full-length LP, Today We’re the Greatest.
The first thing I heard from Middle Kids was “Edge of Town” off their debut LP, Lost Friends; I was hooked. Hannah Joy’s voice is a special feel to it, with poignant vulnerability and feminine strength.
The Aussie trio of Hannah Joy (lead vocals, guitar, piano), Tim Fitz (backing vocal, production), and Harry Day (drums, backing vocals) fell together after Fitz saw Joy play and offered to produce some songs for her. Add in an old friend who doubles as a jazz drummer, and there you have Middle Kids.
If you are on the new music indie radar, you’ve probably already heard the upbeat yet desperately lonely single, “R U 4 Me?” that came out back in October of 2020. The remainder of the 12- track LP was released last Friday, March 19th, and can be streamed and purchased on Bandcamp, Spotify, and their website. Please support your favorite artists. Tough times are upon them.
Anyway, I feel all the feels about this album, and The review is just too easy to write. I can’t let the opportunity pass by to do just that.
Middle Kids second full-length LP, Today We’re The Greatest, seems like a story sung through the eyes of an optimistic realist. A confession, at times, of things we wish we could change.
As I listened to the first track of the album, “Bad Neighbours”, I couldn’t help but wonder if the band planned the release of their second LP just in time for spring. To me, it seems like the perfect spring album. Sunny but sad, articulating the dissolving of the old and inspiring the life that comes after.
A ray of sunshine sprung through my window while I listened to the perfect album. I found myself contemplating the past, the storybook beginnings and explosive endings.
This entire album is like basking in the light and beauty of everything you’ve lost. Every love that was once sweet and turned sour, every great experience that is now tainted with a bitter taste, it’s time to let it go.
The song Some People Stay in Our Hearts Forever is an emotional song of regret and repentance, another track that’s a bit heartwrenching and painfully real. This album highlights all of the best parts of us and our relationships through the saddest expression. Maybe it’s just my period, but this LP really pulls at my heartstrings!
Like I said, the perfect Spring album. I may have wept a little for the past, but I also felt excitement for what’s to come. Something about the music offers a resolution, even hope for new beginnings and acceptance of the less than perfect past experiences. So thanks for that, Middle Kids.
For me, this latest Middle Kids album, Today We’re The Greatest, is a beautiful, sad, and hopeful portrayal of what life really is. Beautiful, sad and full of hope! The title and closing track, Today We’re The Greatest, implies the ever-changing and uncertainty of life. You might be great today, but everything could go to shit tomorrow, so grab it and run!
“Life is glory and boring sometimes”. It so is Middle Kids. I love you, beautiful Aussie babes. I hope we see you on a U.S. tour soon!
