Middle Kids - Today We're The Greatest

'Today We're The Greatest', the second album from Sydney-based pop-rockers Middle Kids, has cemented their status as a force to be reckoned with, building on their earlier efforts with confidence and bold instrumental takes.

The album feels like a montage of your last good summer, flitting through influences whilst retaining the rock underbelly that will see them headline festivals. Never has vulnerability felt so complete, never fragility so assured; the album explores beyond itself, incorporating the tweeting of birds, the patter of rain, and even the beating heart of members' Hannah Joy and Tim Fitz's unborn son, taken from a sonogram. In doing so, the record yawns wide open, displaying startling intimacy and a reassuring affinity with the natural world.

Scattered influences and fractious anxieties swarm and come together like Tetris, slotting together throughout the record whilst remaining independently notable. The addition of a banjo on 'Lost in Los Angeles', a track conceived in the mundanity of a morning shower', sees the band lean into folk influences, adding a soulful, contemplative feel.

The late-night exuberance of 'I Don't Care', co-written by CHVRCHES' Martin Doherty, spills forth from the stark emotional plaintiveness of 'Run With You'. The Smiths influenced 'Some People Stay In Our Hearts Forever' calls out as an apology to past loves, elegiac vocals crying out over lively, jangling guitars. The whole effect is seamless, culminating in the anthemic title-track, 'Today We're The Greatest', a perfect pitch slice of piano balladry that builds and builds in a triumphant climax.

This is a considered and accomplished album that sees Middle Kids truly step into their light, boasting a multitude of inspirations that unites in their best work yet.