Today, Sydney-based three piece Middle Kids have just released their brand new single, “Highlands.”
The new single successfully showcases everything that has made Middle Kids such a formidable force in recent years. The trio take the bare-bones of indie-rock of guitar, bass, and drums and elevate their songs with an astonishing vocal performance, scorching production, and an undeniably catchy pop sensibility.
“Highlands” is the second single from Middle Kids to be produced by Jonathan Gilmore (The 1975, beabadoobee) and follows their recent single, “Bootleg Firecracker.”
Additionally, the single is accompanied by a music video directed by Toby Morris, who took Middle Kids to New South Wales highlands surrounding Jindabyne to shoot. The spectacular beauty of the region is offset by stunt driving, helicopters, horses, motorcycles and the Southern Hemisphere’s largest car-wrecking yard. The visual feast itself matches the ferocious immediacy of the song.
Middle Kids’ lead singer and songwriter Hannah Joy said of the song: “Since I was young, I’ve had this yearning to be free. In this song I used an image of the ‘highlands’ as a euphoric place where I have the space to be me, and you have the space to be you. Part of the imagery comes from my Scottish heritage, which my grandmother was always so proud of. I recorded some big slow piano chords which Tim mangled into the atmospheric hits in the intro.”
“When we finished the song with Jon Gilmore in the UK he thought it was important that the song felt punky, like a bunch of teenagers practicing in their garage. So, there are these 2 energies fighting it out – the constricted energy of the domestic space and the wide open energy of the highlands. We have a friend who calls this kind of music ‘yearncore’. It’s that impatient energy that says ‘I can’t keep waiting, I need a change’.” explains Joy.
Middle Kids is currently opening for Jimmy Eat World and Manchester Orchestra on their The Amplified Echos tour. Additional stops include New York City, Boston, Nashville, Austin, Chicago, Toronto and more.
A full rundown of tour dates can be found below.
Tour dates:
JUL 27, 2023 – St Louis Music Park, St Louis, MO *
JUL 28, 2023 – Ascend Amphitheater, Nashville, TN *
JUL 29, 2023 – Rabbit Rabbit, Asheville, NC *
JUL 30, 2023 – Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre, Charlotte, NC *
AUG 7, 2023 – 713 Music Hall, Houston, TX *
AUG 8, 2023 – ACL Live at The Moody Theater, Austin, TX *
AUG 9, 2023 – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory, Dallas, TX *
AUG 11, 2023 – The Criterion, Oklahoma City, OK *
AUG 13, 2023 – The Armory, Minneapolis, MN *
AUG 15, 2023 – Eagles Ballroom, Milwaukee, WI *
AUG 16, 2023 – The Salt Shed, Chicago, IL *
AUG 18, 2023 – TCU Amphitheater at White River State Park, Indianapolis, IN *
AUG 19, 2023 – KEMBA Live!, Columbus, OH *
AUG 20, 2023 – Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill, Detroit, MI *
AUG 21, 2023 – Echo Beach, Toronto, ON *
AUG 23, 2023 – SummerStage in Central Park, New York, NY *
AUG 24, 2023 – MGM Music Hall at Fenway, Boston, MA *
AUG 25, 2023 – Waterfront Concert Series, Buffalo, NY *
AUG 26, 2023 – Skyline Stage at the Mann, Philadelphia, PA *
* with Jimmy Eat World & Manchester Orchestra
