RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE
Returning to St Helens will be much more than just a one-night stand for two members of Sydney band Middle Kids, writes Kane Young
NEXT weekend’s Triple J One Night Stand at St Helens is sure to bring back fond memories for two-thirds of rising Sydney trio Middle Kids, singer/guitarist Hannah Joy and her bass-playing husband Tim Fitz.
“When we heard it was at St Helens, we thought that was pretty cool — Tim and I actually had our honeymoon around there,” Hannah told Pulse this week.
“We rented a little car and drove around the East Coast of Tassie and Hobart.
“We didn’t actually spend much time in St Helens, so we’re keen to get back there and actually hang out. We’re so excited to go back, and really glad to hear that it’s so exciting for Tassie.
“Triple J are so good at keeping the music community alive throughout Australia. The One
Night Stand is such a cool thing for artists as well, to be able to play in places that we wouldn’t usually get to. For towns and cities across Australia, it’s such a good thing for bringing people and music together.”
Hannah and Tim first started working together in 2014, but Middle Kids weren’t born until they recruited conservatorium-trained drummer Harry Day to join them in 2016.
Before they’d even played their first live show, the trio recorded what would become their debut single and breakthrough hit, Edge
of Town — a “non-fictional account of a girl who got swallowed up by the earth”, which caught the attention of listeners, including pop superstar Elton John.
“I wrote it a while ago, before I was working with the boys,” Hannah explained. “We kind of made the band around the song, because we loved the song so much.
“That song is a little bit angsty. [It’s about] realising that we’re so out of control in life. We kind of suspect what’s going on, but we really don’t know what’s going on under the surface, outside of our own little worlds.
“That can sometimes be stressful, but actually it’s kind of exciting to feel that the world is much bigger than we realise.”
Edge of Town instantly put Middle Kids on the map when it was first released in 2016. But the song went to another level — and exposed Middle Kids’ music to a whole new, much bigger, audience — in May last year, when Something For Kate frontman Paul Dempsey covered it for Triple J’s popular Like A Version segment.
Hannah and her bandmates had no idea Dempsey was planning to perform their song until they heard it for themselves.
“Somebody said to us on the morning he was doing Like A
Version, ‘you should turn the radio on’,” Hannah said.
“It was such a cool surprise, because we love him. It was awesome. Having someone like Paul validate your song in that way is just so helpful — particularly in Australia because he’s such an Aussie legend.”
Edge of Town first appeared on Middle Kids’ self-titled debut EP, which helped land the band a spot at the huge SxSW conference in Texas and support slots with the likes of Ryan Adams and Cold War Kids. Now it also features on the group’s highly anticipated debut album Lost Friends, which came out in May.
Featuring 12 songs that range from indie rock belters to piano ballads to singalong pop anthems — including the latest singles Mistake and On My Knees — Lost Friends has received rave reviews across the board.
The UK’s NME gave the album a four-star review, describing it as “a powerful and sincere debut … a set of pile-driving anthems that demands your undivided attention”. The Herald Sun simply said Middle Kids “have an air of invincibility about them”.
“The response has been really encouraging,” Hannah said. “You never really know how your first album is going to go down.
“We feel like it’s a nice little body of work to represent where we’ve been at. And of course now it’s really fun to play it live.”
But the band members have already turned their attention to making album No.2 — a process they’re trying to fit in around their hectic touring schedule.
After a home-town show as part of Sydney’s Vivid Live festival in May, Middle Kids toured the US in June — including performing Mistake and On My Knees on Jimmy Kimmel Live! — before returning to Australia last month for Splendour in The Grass. They’re off to Europe next month, then hope to get some new songs recorded before heading back to the US in December.
“We’ve got a studio at home, so we try to use that as much as possible,” Hannah said.
“It’s kind of fun, trying to make songs around the edges of all these other things we’re doing. Something cool gets produced, you know?”
An all-ages, alcohol-free concert also featuring Vance Joy, Peking Duk, Tkay Maidza, Alex the Astronaut and Unearthed winners The Sleepyheads, Triple J’s One Night Stand will be held at the St Helens Football Club (117 Tully Street) from 3pm next Saturday (September 1). Entry is free.
The One Night Stand event will be broadcast live on Triple J radio from noon, then on ABC TV from 9.30pm the following night.
For more information go to www.abc.net.au/triplej/ onenightstand-2018