It’s been somewhat of a low-key busy summer for Middle Kids. The Australian indie rock outfit hasn’t put out a new album since Spring 2021’s Today We’re the Greatest, but this summer began to let some fresh music trickle out in the singles “Highlands” and “Bootleg Firecracker.” Then there’s the tour they’re currently on, providing support for the Manchester Orchestra and Jimmy Eat World co-headlining trek that rolls into MGM Music Hall at Fenway on Thursday (August 24).
“It’s been very cool, actually,” Middle Kids singer/guitarist Hannah Joy tells Vanyaland about the tour. “Part of being an opener is that most people don’t actually know who you are. But we’ve actually just found the audiences to have been so receptive, and I guess there’s quite a few songs that could’ve lined up, probably more with Manchester, so I feel like it’s been kind of a cool crossover. And it’s cool playing these two new singles as well and really fun seeing those two connect.”
Middle Kids first made waves when the earworm single “Edge of Town” came out in 2016. The track drew the attention of Sydney’s FBi Radio and led to the band beating out 600 other acts to win the radio station’s Northern Lights competition, earning a slot on the 2016 Iceland Airwaves bill. Things didn’t exactly go according to plan during the Reykjavík-based music festival – more on that later – but it was a clear indicator there was something special about the trio.
Joy, along with drummer Harry Day and bassist Tim Fitz, delivered a self-titled EP followed by the 2018 full length Lost Friends, which took home Australian Album of the Year at the country’s J Awards that year. Then, just as international momentum began to build, the pandemic shut the world down and Middle Kids got in line with the rest of the musicians who found all their plans shot down in flames.
Showing proper resiliency, the band returned in 2021 with Today We’re the Greatest, garnering another nomination for Album of the Year at the J Awards and landing Best Rock Album at the 35th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards.
Sitting down with Vanyaland for a 617 Q&A (Six Questions; One Recommendation; Seven Somethings), Joy talked about the additional difficulties as an Australian act trying to break in the United States, covering Olivia Rodrigo for Triple J radio’s beloved Like a Version series and explained what exactly “yearn-core” is all about.
: SIX QUESTIONS
Michael Christopher: You’ve had two new songs come out this summer in “Bootleg Firecracker” and “Highlands.” What’s the timetable for a new album and what can you tell me about it?
Hannah Joy: We don’t actually have a proper timetable, but we’ve made a full body of work. We’re just kind of dripping out singles until we know what the heck we’re doing. [laughs] There’ll be a couple more singles this year, and then the album probably not far behind that.
With “Highlands,” you’ve said how one of your friends termed it “yearn-core.” Can you tell me more about that and what it means to you and your songwriting?
I think that there’s just kind of an intense longing in it, and I feel like kind of a lot of our songs probably would fall into the yearncore well, but this one particularly, I think. Coupled with the song basically just kind of charges along until it collapses in a big heap at the end. Also, any kind of song with unhinged “ooohs” and howling to the moon I feel like is very “yearn-corey.” [laughs]
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You’re supporting Manchester Orchestra and Jimmy Eat World on this run. Were you fans of theirs growing up?
Yes, I think Jimmy, definitely fans, also a lot younger, because of obviously the timeline. Then, when I came into my late teens, I became a very big fan of Manchester Orchestra. I feel like they’re a very special band to me – and the boys actually – so we were crazy stoked to get this tour with them. And then, yeah, it’s kind of cool like, we’re fans of both of them in different seasons of life. Even just seeing their live show every night, yet just absolutely blown away by just their musicality. It’s been amazing.
Let’s roll it back to 2016. You won the FBi Northern Lights competition – beating out 600 other artists – and earned a chance to perform at Iceland Airwaves. But you had some bad luck and were only able to perform one of the two gigs that were lined up. Do you recall what happened?
That trip haunts us. We were so gutted. It was so early on in our band, and it was such a big opportunity for us, and so massive for us to get over there. Harry, our drummer, lost his bag, which is like…annoying but fine. But then I completely lost my voice. And I was pumping steroids and trying everything I could to try and get it out, and I just had nothing. And so, we couldn’t play that actual set. And then the next day or two days later, maybe, we were playing that [Seattle radio station] KEXP, [they] have like a little stage?
At Kex Hostel.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And we played there, and I kind of barked out a bit of a set which, I was glad to be able to do something. But yeah, it was pretty brutal because I freakin’ love that festival and… yeah, couldn’t believe it.
Are you going to try and get back there someday to play again?
I mean, we’d love to, ‘cause it’s quite easy to do it, especially if you’re gonna spend some time in Europe. If it aligned with some of our Europe plans, that would be amazing because we love it there, too. Actually, after that week, we got to go and record in Sigur Rós’ studio, which was absolutely epic. But yeah, I’d love to get back for sure.
What was the music that came out of that recording session?
We actually just made one song. We just were in there for the day and, if I’m perfectly honest, I don’t even know if we did anything with the song. But I really liked the song that we made. Good reminder. I’m gonna go find it.
Whenever there’s a new/newish artist from, say, England, who is getting some traction in the States, it’s always talked about how hard it is to break here. Coming from Australia, it’s even more challenging because of the distance. How do you approach that?
Yes, it definitely is a challenge. I think what we just tried to do is just do laps of the country, and just play as many shows we can. I think the time of Covid was kind of tough, like, I feel like we lost a lot of momentum because we just couldn’t get over here for two years; Australians were not legally allowed to leave the country. So, we couldn’t do anything, and we really felt that. But our motto has just kind of been saying ‘yes’ to everything. When we come here, we just try and do as much as we can. But it’s intense, it’s definitely even expensive for us to get over here to do that. But we feel so stoked to be able to even do it. And we love playing shows and we love being little road doggies. So, we just kind of drive around, [laughs] and play as many shows we can.
Now that there’s been a bit of time since things have opened back up, do you feel like the band’s growth was stymied for a bit, or did it help to take a breather and come back reinvigorated?
That’s a good question. I didn’t feel like I needed that breather. I think in some ways it was a bit of a bummer because we released an album during that time, and just didn’t really get to tour the way that we wanted to or hoped to, or usually would, you know? But I mean, there are other, amazing things that come out of it, like I started writing the third album a lot in that space. There’s always something that can grow out of space. So, I don’t feel like anything has been wasted. But I don’t look back on that time and I’m like, thankful… I wouldn’t say that.
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One of my favorite covers of the past few years is when Middle Kids did “Drivers License” for Like a Version. What drew you to that song and how did you approach performing it as a singer? Because you really nailed the emotion behind it.
Honestly, when I just first heard that song, I was so grabbed by it, and I felt, “this is a wonderful song.” It kind of took me back to, which I think it does for a lot of people, when you’re, like, 16 years old, or whatever. So I felt like it was a very natural song to cover, and I didn’t even feel like I had to think about how I would do it. I just kind of played it on the guitar, it made sense and [then I] worked in the boys. Then [they] did their parts around it. I think that’s when you know a song you resonate with, it’s like it translates quite easily, because you’re like, “Oh, this just feels so natural to be playing and singing this.” So yeah, that was a really fun cover to do, because it just felt like I just connected to the song so quickly.
: ONE RECOMMENDATION
Hannah Joy: We have a good friend from Australia, an artist called Julia Jacklin and we actually just serendipitously crossed paths in Baltimore and we saw her show. She’s been touring her latest record, but she’s got this song called “Lydia Wears a Cross”, which I think is a phenomenal song. She is kind of similar [to Middle Kids], like guitar, but bit more folky melancholy. It’s truly beautiful. She has the voice of an angel.
: SEVEN OF SOMETHING
I’m going to give you seven famous middle kids and you tell me the first thing that comes to mind.
Chris Hemsworth
Ozzie legend.
Kim Kardashian
Is she a middle child? I actually don’t really know anything about her, but I feel like I’m supposed to.
I think you might be better off not knowing anything about her.
Can I say… Kanye West?
Mark Zuckerberg
Fight with Elon Musk.
Britney Spears
“Toxic.” One of my favorite songs of all time.
Charles Darwin
Just survival of the fittest. Kind of savage.
Donald Trump
In hot water.
Julia Roberts
Oh, no way. The best smile in the biz.
MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA + JIMMY EAT WORLD + MIDDLE KIDS :: Thursday, August 24 at MGM Music Hall at Fenway, 2 Lansdowne St. in Boston, MA :: 7 p.m., all ages, $36.50 to $66.50 :: Event info :: Advance tickets
