ART OF SONG
The Middle East
“The Darkest Side”
The Recordings of The Middle East
2009 | Spunk

If you’re in New York right now, you know that there is already that melancholia of winter in the air. After an unseasonably cool summer, I looked around today, and saw an anxiousness in the peacoats and wool hats already pulled over other New Yorkers. Maybe we feel like we’re in for a harsh winter, and might as well get used to it. Maybe, though, as the decade comes to a close, we are starting to attempt sorting out how exactly we came into the 2000s with a millennial push in our collective step, and how, just ten years later, you can almost see us limping out. Cold is harsh punishment, and it feels like we deserve it.

In some way, it’s this thought that’s been motivating what I’ve been listening to recently; New Years seems like a strange time to reflect on things like that; it is intrinsically linked to looking forward instead of back. Instead it’s usually fall easing into winter. And, in the search for new music that gets this sense just right, I’ve come back mostly empty eared. It seems like most noteworthy bands this year are clinging to summer – Brooklyn tropical garage bands like Small Black and Beach Fossils are just now gearing up for their releases (both of which are quite good, and we’ll be seeing reviews of soon). And, just as I resigned that I would write about one of those bands for this week’s Art of Song, I stumbled on Australia’s The Middle East (a fitting title when thinking about putting a cap on this decade), and their song, “The Darkest Side.”

Finger-plucked guitars stand alone for a few seconds, till breathy, slightly falsetto-ed lyrics quiver into the melody. “Love/ Was the air in your mother’s lungs/ When her father tore her fences down/ plastic bags and your Panadol was out.” Panadol, another brand name for Tylenol, lingers with you for just a second – there’s a resignation that takes place, hopelessness in accepting that nothing will really dull the pain.
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