The Best Thing I Heard This Week-Middle Brother

Rarely are side projects worth listening to, much less the best thing I hear in a given week. By their nature they are secondary to whatever the main project may be, meaning they're done with less stress, less effort, and more fun. Unfortunately, said fun often fails on translate to the actual record, but for Middle Brother, whatever combination they have going works. Middle Brother consists of Deer Tick’s John McCauley, Dawes’ Taylor Goldsmith, and Delta Spirit’s Matthew Vasquez.

Middle Brother are at their best when they embrace the ramshackle vulgarness present on the title track. Which makes sense--the middle brother as an attention-starved, crass, obnoxious, red-headed step-child. McCauley fits the part the most easily (having red hair probably helps), as he perfects the role he tried on the hilarious "Friday XIII." When he tells us on "Middle Brother" that "I know my days are numbered / but I'm bad at math / got a dick so hard / that a cat couldn't scratch...regrets, tourette's, I guess it's the same," it sounds natural and despite the vulgarity it's easy to laugh with him.



Somehow, the brazen nature of the record is not too off-putting, probably because most of the comments are tongue-in-cheek. Never is that more present on the raucous sing-along "Someday," written by Delta Spirit's Vasquez. Again, there's the possibly irredeemable self-centered character, this time impressed by his own ability to make a woman love him without loving her back ("How could I say that I love you when I don't / how could I say I'll stay cause I won't / I never said I had a head on my shoulders / I'll just say that I'll love you when were older").



Other times on the record, the character is vulgar but certainly redeemable. "Daydreaming" opens the record with the lines "early in the morning / too hungover to go back to sleep / every sound is amplified / every light so dizzying / listen for a while / to the neighbors having sex / wishing I could lay my aching / hand upon your breast") but ends up being a sweet sentiment (I'm just the kid who gets his drinks from you / who stands around and doesn't have a clue / can't I hold you close to me? / can't I say to you just what I mean?").



None of this would matter much if it weren't so apparent that the band had a great time making this record (listen to the end of "Middle Brother," where someone screams "that's a wrap...we did it motherfuckers!"). Sure, it's crass and vulgar all over, but no one on this record took themselves too seriously. It's a testament to all of their musicianship that a record like this that came together so loosely works so well.