Labels: self released
Review by: MH
Midway Still return again – legends of my teenage years. They were a band I saw a lot of in the 90s and I got reacquainted with them a couple of years back when they put out a new album, “Always Ends”. This time around we have 12 new songs that stick fairly faithfully to their sound of old. There was always something a little too rocky about them (and they always liked a guitar solo a bit more than I ever did) which meant that although I liked them I wasn’t quite as smitten by them as I was with the likes of Bivouac, Leatherface and Mega City Four. Still, they delivered some great songs across their previous records like “I Won’t Try”, “Wish” and “Just Get Stuck” amongst others and I will always have a soft spot for them. They also did a mean My Bloody Valentine cover back in the day. As for this new album, it’s pretty driven when it wants to be and there’s a nice nostalgia and feeling of disappointment in how things have turned out in the lyrics – something I always liked about this band. There’s also a lot of energy and perhaps a little less of the weariness of old. I also feel that the production here is perfectly suited to them and has given them a fuller sound than that on some of their early records. It may not win over anyone who previously couldn’t get into them but for me there are a few songs I keep coming back to like the dejected and driven “Can’t Take It”, “Semaphore” and the sadder “Next Life”. “Don’t Walk Away” is another good song with that riff. It’s a solid album and while they continue to plough an unfashionable sound anyone who liked them initially would do well to give this one a go.