Who Should Buy This: Alternative music fans, weirdos, and people who appreciate intelligence and introspection delivered in accessible forms.
Album: Lost Friends
Artist: Middle Kids
Genre: alternative, indie, pop
Music Rating: 9/10
Lyrics Rating: 9/10
Overall: 9/10
Sounds Like: Alvvays, Amy Shark, Grouplove
Best thing About this Album: No component of this album can adequately be described as any one thing. Nevertheless, it has strong thematic consistency, granting it the designation of “multidimensionally encompassing” rather than “haphazard”.
One thing I wish was different: I can appreciate the sentiment of a transitory track, but Hole captivated me so entirely, I am sure it could have been my favorite track on the album had its genesis carried its potential to fruition. As its stands, the track was, in my estimation, a mere germ of creation, which is perchance the very concrete intention of its existence. If so, I lament this wicked humor and wish it applied elsewhere. If not, I stand by my initial judgment.
Website: Middle Kids
Tracks: 11.5 12
My Favorites: Edge of Town, On My Knees, Please, Tell Me Something
This is a playlist of all of the songs from the album that will automatically play through the whole album. To skip to a particular song, click on the menu icon in the upper left-hand corner.
Middle Kids may have “Lost Friends”, but I’d wager that they’ve gained a great many fans with the release of their debut LP. This album is so phenomenally layered and musically dimensional, I scarce know where to begin speaking of it. While it may rightfully be considered a great alternative album, it feels almost travesty to reduce it to such prepackaged categorizations when specificity in relation to identify is so blatantly curated throughout the album. Although cohesive, each track bears the unique imprint of its own atmospheric musical identity.
Lyrically, one of the delightful thematic consistencies weaving this album together is the present kernels of scientific wit mixed in with observations of the absolutely mundane, which for some reason sent shockwaves of unexpected delight in me — although this precise application ought to be macrocosmic of the tedium which it itself encapsulates, as this is the hallmark of anyone with any true apperception of scientific knowledge, and not merely the perception of it.
(TL;DR: Science is useful only in its practical application, and the lyrical content of this album makes use of that premise to humorous and introspective effect.)
Still, if the above assessment holds no significance to you apart from pretention or ennui, you need not be put off by this album. The narrative and emotional lyrical aspects are universal, easily internalized, and comprise a far weightier portion of this collection.
Here are some of my favorite lines from each track to give you a better sample of the whole album. Take a look and then take a listen!
“I got a lot of questions, and I can’t seem to get them out.” — Bought It
“It was charming, the way we danced around the truth.” — Mistake
“The one resounding answer that I could take is that I don’t know nothing.” — Edge of Town
“For once you’ll have to live within.” — Maryland
“I stare at everything a little different. There’s something there that I have never seen.” — On My Knees
“Give me all your garbage and your gold.” — Don’t Be Hiding
“But the more that was known, the more we felt hollow.” — Hole
“I know you’re doubtful, but I’m believing.” — Please
“Lonely is the sound when the truth hits the ground.” — Lost Friends
“All of this time there’s been no change, ’cause you’ve got no heart and I’ve got no brain.” — Never Start
“But I’m not moving towards you, and you’re not moving towards me.” — Tell Me Something
“Stick around long enough to outrun the fear.” — So Long, Farewell, I’m Gone
That’s it. If you loved these songs as much as I did, please consider supporting Middle Kids by purchasing the album from their website or on your favorite digital music store (iTunes, Apple Music, Google Play, Amazon, etc.)
And holler at me in the comments! I’d love to talk to you all about this album.
