Album Review

Midimidis – There’s Just Far Too Much Going On Upstairs For Me To Feel Truly Comfortable With Myself

• 16th Apr 2010

This autobiographical single is a bit of a one off, as far they go. Dark, dirty and seductive, the synthesized bass kicks off like a disgruntled roll of thunder, gathering layer upon layer of synthesizer and culminating in a cacophony of distorted harmony. And that’s just the intro.

The lyrics, Larkin-esque in their brutality, lend an offbeat attitude to a song already offbeat in its rhythm, and even though melodically they are barely more than spoken word, they somehow manage to come together to form a memorable tune.

Come the chorus, though, and the levels get a bit misplaced. The synthesizer overtakes the vocals by far, creating the sense that Midimidis put more into their music than their words, which perhaps is justified given the electro-pop style of the song. Alongside this, the emphasis on the music rather than the lyrics prevent them from becoming self-important which, bearing in mind the highly personal (and perhaps inaccessible for some) subject matter, is a very wise move for the

The B-side, “Nothing Means Anything” runs along a similar vain to “There’s Far Too Much Going On…” but it’s far lighter, perhaps ironically so. The synth tinkles happily along at the top end of the board creating a far more commercial sound than the bassy, ground-level sound which accompanies the A-Side.

These two tracks are a nifty collection, well worth listening to a couple of times just to get a grip on the different elements which bring it all together to create some solid tunes. Hopefully it won’t be long before we see an album from this dynamic duo.