Middle Kids
Real Thing
UMG, RepublicofMusic1
Sydney-based band Middle Kids’ newest number Real Thing is a sentimental tune with an earthy guitar track. Middle Kids’ work is known for their grungy aesthetic and powerful vocals – usually combined with an element of nostalgia – to create a familial sense of home and a longing for reckless youth. Songs such as Edge of Town and Mistake, display the raw power which the band has, combined with their effective lyrics to provoke an almost storyteller quality to their songs.
The second single taken from forthcoming EP New Songs For Old Problems (out May 24), this isn’t the first time Middle Kids has touched upon romance, but Real Thing downplays the usual power that the band presents, instead using a more sentimental note and softer instrumentals within the verses to provide for an unusual and yet spellbinding listen. The lyrics, which give themselves over to dream-like ethereal vocals from frontwoman Hannah Joy, follow in a fragmented thought-like quality to reel out the story behind the relationship itself. The chorus, on the other hand, amps up the power we see lacking within the verses, driving home the true message of the single itself: “Are you like me? Do you lie awake thinking is this the real thing?”
The entire affair leaves a listener with a moment to ponder the question for themselves, time for thought and reflection after a song so filled with heart and emotion. Comparative to Middle Kids’ other works, some might say that Real Thing is lacking in the power that made their songs so good in the beginning, however, the shift between powerful nostalgia and soft, reverential, romance could be the bridge that the band needs to keep moving forward.
ELIZABETH HARRIS
