Middle Kids – Faith Crisis Pt 1

Sydney trio Middle Kids release their latest and highly anticipated album, Faith Crisis Pt 1, a project brimming with yearning, angst, pop brightness, belief in love, and reassurance that even from the bottom, it’s possible to believe in beautiful things. The band will tour their new album in USA this spring/summer, with tickets available here.

At the heart of Faith Crisis Pt 1, the third album from Sydney’s emotive indie trio Middle Kids, lies a question. Over 13 propulsive, ecstatic, and gorgeous tracks, songwriter and vocalist Hannah Joy attempts to tease out the question of belief: the breaking of it, and how it is rebuilt.

Written at a time of personal faith crisis, Hannah Joy explores the experience of losing certainty, in a time when she sees that many are struggling to muster belief in beautiful things. “It’s something we’re all learning to live through, at times with more grace and at times with less.”

Co-produced by Tim Fitz and Jonathan Gilmore (The 1975, Beabadoobee), Joy and bandmates Fitz and Harry Day masterfully express the sensation of being overwhelmed, swept up, and dragged down in songs that exalt and lift you higher.

The latest track to be highlighted from the album is “All In My Head” featuring Gang of Youths frontman Dave Le’aupepe.

On this tender, open-hearted piano ballad, Joy traces the seeds of this particular faith crisis back more than a decade, with Dave Le’aupepe joining her in questioning the reality behind the tension in her heart.

“I actually wrote that song many years ago, and it’s always felt very special, but I’ve never really known what to do with it,” Joy remembers. “It used to be a big full-band song, but when we stripped it back to just me and the piano, I could see it for what it was.”

“This song started as a jangly indie song but became a piano ballad. Maybe one day we’ll release the guitar version. But we stripped it back to bring out the lyrics more. It’s about a time when I was younger and just felt so confused about myself, about life, all of it. The seeds of Faith Crisis pt 1 were there. We recorded it on our piano at home, a German Sauter upright which has a warm intimate sound that we love. The decision to ask Dave Le’aupepe (Gang of Youths) to sing on the song was easy, he is an old friend and his voice stuns at a soul level. His vocals brought even more character to the song,” explains Joy, “I like the idea of ending Faith Crisis Pt 1 with the question ‘is it all in my head?’ Because of course, it is.”

Fri 10 May – Forum, Melbourn

Sat 11 May – Theatre Royal, Castlemaine

Sat 18 May – Bass in the Gras

Thu 23 May – Astor, Perth

Fri 24 May – Gov, Adelaide

Fri 31 May – Hotel Brunswick, Byron Bay

Sat 1 Jun – Tivoli, Brisbane

Fri 7 Jun – Enmore Theatre, Sydney

Fri 14 June – Los Angeles, CA at Lodge Roo

Sat 15 June – San Francisco, CA at August Hall

Mon 17 June – Portland, OR at Doug Fir

Tue 18 June – Seattle, WA at Neumos

Fri 21 June – Minneapolis, MN at Fine Line

Sun 23 June – Chicago, IL at Thalia Hall

Mon 24 June – Columbus, OH at A&R Bar

Fri 28 June – Brooklyn, NY at Music Hall of Williamsburg

Sun 30 June – Washington, DC at Atlantis

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