With all the boombastic jams dominating the Train Station as of late, I thought it apt to slow the tempo down a smidge and get my chill on. Enter the soothing sounds of The Middle East and their literally titled album/EP The Recordings of The Middle East to the rescue. Now, you’ll have to excuse the relative brevity of this post because after pounding the digital pavement I wasn’t able to find a lot of information about these craftsmen of the melodious. Emails to PR went unanswered and random websites offered me scant ramblings posing as info, but here’s what I was able to glean – the group is based in Townsville in Queensland (they sure like their literal labels down under), Australia; they broke up in 2007 only to reform six months later and went on to re-release their debut collection, the aforementioned The Recordings of The Middle East, shortly thereafter. That’s all I got, but who really gives a flying 747 about a bio, we all know you’re here for the music…
Ahhhhh, and what music it is. Soft and wistful, yet sneakingly jarring at time. Wait, I don’t really like how that sounds. Ambient-post-rock-dream-folk – how’s that for a description? The first song below is ‘The Darkest Side’ which opens with a minimalistic guitar line that serves as the perfect backdrop for the servings of ethereal whispers that are generously heaped on during the course of the next five minutes. Can a song float? This one sure feels like it does. The second song is ‘Blood’, with it’s layered harmonies and percussion slowly rising throughout the first half, resulting in a musical crescendo of chorus and brass around the 3:00 mark. But don’t take my word for it, you’re just going to have to listen for yourself because no amount of wordsmithing by yours truly is going to do the songs justice. The Middle East: Train Tested. Muffin Approved.
The Middle East – The Darkest Side
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The Recordings of The Middle East can be purchased at ThinkIndie for the ridiculously low price of $1(!) HERE.
I’m a big fan of ‘layered melodies’. Love on the first song how this collective singing is broken slightly for the female solo. Great stuff Train!!
I love it when you get your chill on.
huge fan of the selections Train, you have once again proven your prowess