Middle Kids release new single "Bend" taken from the new album Faith Crisis Pt 1, to be released 16 February 2024.
Sydney trio Middle Kids today share “Bend”, the latest single from their forthcoming album Faith Crisis Pt 1, set for release on 16 February 2024 via Lucky Number.
Produced by Jonathan Gilmore (The 1975, beabadoobee), “Bend” is a soaring, emotive track about “finding the truth beneath the truth”, and was recorded in Eastbourne, UK along with the rest of the album.
“I grew up with a solid framework for what life is, but I got to a point when I started to question some of the fundamental truths of what I believed. It was very painful and disorienting. I began to have this feeling that I couldn’t hold together all the things I valued, family, creativity, work, safety, community, spirituality”
explains lead singer Hannah Joy.
The video for “Bend” is directed by acclaimed sibling directors The Potter Sisters who most recently directed films ‘Far West’ and ‘Nightswim’. Filmed in Austin, TX, the video features a heavily pregnant Joy centred still in the chaos of a skate park with local skaters Ignacio Arriagada, Cristobal Arriagada, Chloë James, Atlas Chaney, JD Torian Jr and Tayvian Trejo.
“Bend” follows the release of singles “Dramamine”, “Bootleg Firecracker” and “Highlands”, which along with the rest of the album were recorded in late 2022 and co-produced by Jonathan Gilmore and Tim Fitz.
Faith Crisis Pt 1 is the band’s most ambitious work to date; over 13 propulsive, ecstatic and gorgeous tracks, the band explore lyrical and musical territory inspired by lead singer Hannah Joy’s search for meaning and identity after personal crisis.
Despite the earnest subject matter, the album’s central achievement is the gift Joy and bandmates Tim Fitz and Harry Day demonstrate when expressing the sensation of being overwhelmed, swept up and dragged down with songs that exalt and lift you higher.
Middle Kids' previous album, Today We're The Greatest, earned critical acclaim, including the Best Rock Album award at the 2021 ARIA Awards. Despite releasing it at the height of the pandemic, the band managed to captivate international audiences with TV appearances on shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and The Late, Late Show with James Corden.
Middle Kids first gained attention in 2017 with their debut single, "Edge Of Town” and their debut album, Lost Friends, which won Triple J's Best Australian Album Award in 2018.
The success of their albums has also earned the band an international touring profile which has included supporting shows with the likes of Bloc Party, Kings of Leon, War on Drugs and Cold War Kids. Middle Kids have recently completed a 29-date tour of North America with Manchester Orchestra and Jimmy Eat World.
Hannah Joy shines in her acting debut in 'Christmess', directed by Heath Davis and hitting theatres across Australia and New Zealand on November 30th.
Photo by Pooneh Ghana