A Chat with Middle Kids

Indie pop band Middle Kids formed in Sydney, Australia just last year when frontwoman Hannah Joy was working on a solo project produced by Tim Fitz.  The pair joined with drummer Harry Day in 2016 and released their first single, “Edge of Town” in May.  It found almost immediate radio success on Aulstralia’s Triple J radio and was even played by Elton John on his Beats 1 radio show.  Shortly thereafter, the band released their first EP, the self titled Middle Kids, in February of this year.  The band recently played festivals including SXSW and Lollapalooza and toured with Cold War Kids and is now in the middle of their headlining tour.  Be sure to catch them on September 15 at Brighton Music Hall and check out our exclusive interview with Hannah. Your first single, “Edge of Town,” found success very quickly.  What was that like for you guys?I mean, yeah, it was awesome. [Laughs] It was definitely more than we kind of expected to happen, but yeah, it was a lovely surprise.Did the reception differ between Sydney and the United States?Yeah, it’s a little bit different, just in the way that, like, Australia’s quite small, and we have, like, one big national radio station, so it kind of all happened at once, but over here, it’s kind of been slowly filtering its way onto different stations, so yeah, it’s been kind of more of, like, a longer journey for the song I think.You’re a classically trained piano player, which we hear a little bit on “Doing It Right.”  Will there be more of that on future releases?Yeah, we’ve actually just finished recording the LP, and there’s a couple of piano moments on there, which is cool ‘cause it mixes up the vibe a bit.You also were working on solo stuff before Middle Kids formed.  Do you see yourself returning to that or continuing with it on the side?I could probably see myself maybe later down the road, but essentially Middle Kids was my solo project anyway, so it feels like just an extension of that, so it’s not too different.You recently played some festivals, including Lollapalooza.  How does that compare to your headlining shows?[Laughs] They’re so much more fun because, I don’t know, just like the energy from everybody is, like, so wild so, yeah, we loved playing those festivals.If you could tour with any three bands, who would you choose?Oh goodness… Radiohead, The National, and um… Red Hot Chili Peppers.Good choices.  Do you guys have any plans for once the tour ends?Yeah, we actually have another tour that begins in Australia, like, I think about two days after we get back.  You know, I think we’re just assuming that our house is going to be, like, a tour van for the next couple of years.What’s your favorite American food and what Australian food do you miss the most?Chick-fil-a is definitely my favorite American food.  Do you have that where you are?  Is it everywhere in America?I think it’s mostly in the South.Oh, well yeah, that absolutely rocks my world.  We don’t have anything like that, and probably the thing I miss the most about Australia is our bread.  Our bread is so different from yours.Can you tell us when we can expect a full album?We don’t have an official date yet, but it’ll come out early next year.  We’ve got a single coming out at the end of this year.Awesome, I’m super excited to hear it.Yeah, cool!Thanks for talking with us.  We’re excited to see you on tour.Yeah, it’ll be so fun!