Lucky Number Music

Sydney-based three-piece Middle Kids (Tim Fitz, Hannah Joy and Harry Day) are about to enter a new chapter in their career with the release today of their latest single, “Bootleg Firecracker“.

In 2022, the band made an impulsive decision to decamp to Eastbourne, UK in order to spend an intense six weeks with renowned producer Jonathan Gilmore (The 1975). The goal was to transform their lo-fi demos into something fresh, dynamic, and innovative, and to collaborate with a producer who could push the boundaries of a traditional rock band format to its sonic limit while still maintaining the essence of classic pop songwriting.

“Bootleg Firecracker” is the first taste of new music from those intense sessions. The song features beautiful fingerpicked acoustic loops, coupled with an edgy, loping drum groove, unlike anything we’ve heard in the band’s previous work. Lead singer Hannah Joy’s honest lyrics explore the concept of the titular ‘bootleg’ firecracker, an explosive yet beautiful force that also carries with it the risk of causing harm. The result is a warm, delicate, and contemporary sound that showcases the band’s creative evolution.

Joy describes “Bootleg Firecracker” as “a song about the power, magic, and risk of intimacy…It started out as an up-tempo chorus about dancing, but Tim (Fitz – co-producer and bassist) slowed it down, and we came up with this idea of the bootleg firecracker. Fireworks can be dangerous and risky, but there’s something about their explosion of light and heat that brings people together in celebration. I think love is like that.”

The track also includes an artistic contribution from Middle Kids’ fans, who submitted audio recordings of their own fireworks celebrations which are seamlessly woven into the outro of the song. The explosive theme crosses over into the official video which was directed by Toby Morris and features firework programming by the company used for Sydney’s legendary NYE celebrations.

The Sydney-based three-piece Middle Kids (Hannah Joy, Tim Fitz and Harry Day) have released “Today We’re The Greatest”, the cinematic title track from their hotly anticipated second album, out this Friday March 19th 2021.

“Today We’re The Greatest” features a heartachingly beautiful performance from lead singer Hannah Joy and showcases the juxtaposition of her compelling songwriting. The grandiose and romantic notion of the song’s title is offset by the repeated refrain “life is gory and boring sometimes” which both closes the song and also the album – reveling equally in the good, the bad, the beautiful and the ugly.

About the song, Hannah explains:
“This is a simple song of people being TINY and our lives being FLEETING but in that we are EPIC and GREAT. It’s finding the beauty and majesty of the every day. Therein lies life and meaning.

LIFE IS GORY AND BORING SOMETIMES: it’s both hectic and mundane and we have to accept both.”

“Today We’re The Greatest” is accompanied by the stunning music video, watch below, directed by W.A.M. Bleakley and filmed on the Kiama costal path in Australia.

The Sydney-based three-piece Middle Kids, formed of lead singer and songwriter Hannah Joy, multi-instrumentalist Tim Fitz and drummer, Harry Day, today announce the release of their second album, Today We’re The Greatest, out on March 19th 2021.

Recorded and produced in Los Angeles by Lars Stalfors (St. Vincent, Soccer Mummy, Purity Ring), the follow-up to the band’s award-winning 2018 debut, Lost Friends, is their most personal and courageous effort to date. Moving away from lyrics of a more conceptual nature, Today We’re The Greatest is the open, uninhibited product of fearless collaboration. Showing a real vulnerability, Joy is pulling directly from her own experiences and breaking down barriers she had previously set for herself. About the new record, she said: “I want to make music that loves its listener. Music that makes people feel seen, seen in the tiny little places that hide away in their hearts. I want people to hear our music, and feel a sense of love. And when I say love, it can be challenging, intense and tough. But it’s in the guts.” She added: “It can be easier to live dualistically, splitting the world in two. We want to be able say it’s this or it’s that, but sometimes it’s both — and can we hold both? Can we hold the brokenness? Can we hold the beauty? That has definitely been a defining bit of this album, the fragility in that dance.”

To coincide with the announcement, Middle Kids today share their monumental new single, “Questions”, a charged three-minute odyssey which sees Joy struggle poetically with concepts of honesty and intimacy over an explosive rhythm section and a stunningly orchestrated brass-filled climax. As Joy explains, “Questions” is about the fallacies of intimate relationships; “I used to drink a lot and most of my previous relationships revolved around this. I don’t think I ever really knew them or they me as a result. Questions is about people being around each other but not being close. People who are in intimate relationships can stop asking questions of each other because they are uncomfortable and confusing.” The single is accompanied by a one-take video directed by the band’s cinematic collaborator, W.A.M Bleakley. Watch it below.

“Questions” follows the release of the album’s first single, “R U 4 Me?”, which was the lead track of the week in The Guardian Guide who described it as “a nervy, Strokes-esque floorfiller about flailing around in search of emotional connection that still manages to be a sunny delight.” Other tracks on the album include “Run With You”, written when Joy was a few months into pregnancy with her and Tim Fitz, her husband and bandmate’s, first child. They recorded her 20-week sonogram, and wove the gentle, rapid thump of their baby boy’s beating heart into the last 20 seconds of the track — an exuberant declaration of devotion. Joy’s journey to motherhood and her marriage with Fitz has imbued her songs with a vibrancy that’s unabashedly romantic yet free of clichés. “Stacking Chairs,” with its unique allegories and Joy’s sunny vocals, strikes this delicate balance beautifully: it’s a testament to her deep connection with Fitz and the new, “infinitesimal” love that transformed their lives with their son’s arrival.

Today We’re The Greatest follows the release of Middle Kids’ critically acclaimed 2018 debut, Lost Friends, which was awarded Album of the Year by Triple J Radio and was also nominated for Best Rock Album at the ARIA Awards. The record also earned them support slots with the likes of Bloc Party, War on Drugs and Cold War Kids as well as several US TV show performances including Conan, Jimmy Kimmel and The Late, Late Show with James Corden.

Middle Kids (Tim Fritz, Hannah Joy and Harry Day) have today released their first new music in over 18 months. Premiered last night on triple j, the propulsive “R U 4 Me?” was produced by Lars Stalfors (St Vincent, Cold War Kids, Soccer Mommy) and showcases the band’s capacity to pair unforgettable melodies with raucous, arena-worthy indie rock.

Lead singer and songwriter Hannah Joy explains the alienating inspiration for the song: “I was at university once and there were all these signs on the walls saying “BE NICE IT’S NOT THAT HARD”. The tone of the message itself actually wasn’t very nice or kind…. We are always looking around at other people thinking “are you on my team?”. I think this just results in us all feeling lonely.”

“R U 4 Me?” has a frenzied energy. The band chose to include their own distorted yelling, wailing and laughter (captured candidly between takes in the studio) as the sounds encapsulated the spark and energy of creation at that moment. A little manic, a little wild, a little joyful.

“R U 4 Me?” is accompanied by a moving music video directed by W.A.M. Bleakley, portraying a story of youth, peer pressure, social isolation and the joy of finding a place to belong, which you can watch below.

Middle Kids new single is the band’s first release since their 2019 EP New Songs For Old Problems, which in turn followed on from their critically acclaimed 2018 Triple J Award winning debut album Lost Friends.

Middle Kids will also performing live in a Global Live Streaming Event on October 22nd. Tickets are available now.

Middle Kids (Hannah Joy, Harry Day and Tim Fitz) have announced that they will release a six-track mini-album entitled New Songs For Old Problems on May 24th, 2019. To celebrate the announcement, the band have shared a new single and video Real Thing.  A soaring anthemic track, Real Thing ruminates on our “lifelong quest for meaning”, says Hannah. “It’s the quiet, persistent voice in the stillness that constantly checks to see if you truly think you’ve found the thing you’re looking for.” Watch the Marie Pangaud directed clip now.

The mini-album, recorded at the band’s own studio in Sydney and produced by Tim Fitz, follows hot on the heels of what was a massive 2018 for Middle Kids and the May release of their critically acclaimed debut album Lost Friends. The band toured the world, including UK and European dates with Bloc Party and a sold out show at London’s Village Underground, as well as performing on several US TV shows including Conan, Jimmy Kimmel andThe Late Late Show with James Corden.

In June the band will return to play their largest UK headline show to-date at London’s Heaven.

New Songs For Old Problems will be released on May 24th.  It is available to pre-order HERE.   Real Thing is available to stream now HERE.