A fair crowd full of bobbing heads have braved the miserable weather this evening, and even decided to drag themselves away from the England match on television upstairs at The Fly, to see the hotly tipped Middleman perform their own brand of catchy, genre-hopping music. Judging by the number of audience members singing along, it would be reasonable to guess that many of these fans have been conscripted into the Middleman legion before tonight.
With this popular appeal and plenty of critical acclaim from the likes of Zane Lowe and Steve Lamacq behind them, Middleman have reason to be confident, and tonight they’re bursting with it, relishing the simple act of performing their songs to an eager crowd. Part of their allure lies in their dipping in and out of music with ease. One minute they’re bashing out a bouncing guitar stomp like debut single ‘Blah Blah Blah;’ the next they’re breaking into pulsating dance, or rapping as smoothly as most white men can. And all this acts as a backdrop to some tunes that just won’t leave your head, whether you want them to or not.
For all their hooks though, Middleman can’t escape the banality of their repetitive, throwaway lyrics – really, it doesn’t get much worse than “I love my friends/I love my friends/I love my friends” or “He’s talking at me, he’s like ‘blah blah blah blah’/But I’m not listening, I’m like ‘yeah yeah yeah yeah’” – or for that matter, just how bland the music itself is. Middleman may be radio friendly but with the exception of a few moments of joy, real intrigue is severely lacking.
