Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Song of the Morning: Blood

I've been meaning to write about The Middle East (the band, not the cursed region) for a while now, so when I woke up this morning with "Blood" rushing through my ears (not literally, thankfully), I've decided the time has come. After all, their album was one of my favorite discoveries in 2008 (thanks to Guy).

There was a time when I thought their music singular and unique. I considered their single (known to me) album an indie post-rock masterpiece. I've felt that they had somehow channeled through their surprisingly young minds and bodies some unknown forces and creative energies. That, unlike in dream pop atmosphere, there was actually a feeling of surroundings and eerie substance to their sound. That it is very unfortunate that the group has disbanded and their debut LP will also be their swan song.

All this is still true, except for that last sentence. Hope has been re-kindled not only in the US, but by a casual visit to the band's MySpace, where NEW tour dates (in lucky Australia) were being posted. Could it be? Will there be more music being worked on and published? I can only hope.

Check out The Middle East on their MySpace (where you can also buy their beautiful LP The Recordings of the Middle East) and last.fm page for further updates.

The Middle East - Blood {MP3} (from The Recordings of the Middle East)
The Middle East - The Darkest Side {MP3} (from The Recordings of the Middle East)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I just saw them a few nights ago and they were incredible.
I suggest coming down here to Australia and experiencing them fully. I dont know when the next tme they internationally tour will be. They also revealed they were working on an album which should be released soon.

I found it ironic when you said "lucky Australia" even though the band is from there! Townsville queensland to be exact.