Middleman Release “Falls Apart” & Announce “John Dillinger Died For You” EP

London punk band, Middleman have today announced their new EP, John Dillinger Died For You, and released the lead single, Falls Apart, through streaming services and Bandcamp. Evoking something of EVOL-era Sonic Youth, or the energetic rush of The Men, Falls Apart retains an energetic clatter around the closing refrain “In my head I can make it feel so small”. The clear musicality cuts through the noise elevated by the pining passion in the vocals, reminiscent of Stiff Little Fingers.

“The single is about things not turning out how you expect – although that could be for the best. Sonically, I think it’s one of our most interesting songs, and Rory’s lead part over the chorus highlights that. It feels like us, but a step up from any of the songs we’ve put out before” (vocalist Noah Alves).

How can you predict who a band will be influenced by, or what they might end up sounding like? Middleman, still in their early 20s and very much embedded in the London punk scene, have a sound shaped by American punk and rock; bands that had mostly burned out or imploded before they were even born. They embody that slight wonkiness found in greats like Mission Of Burma; that otherness, suggesting that something is slightly off and on edge. John Dillinger Died For You, the follow up to their debut EP Cut Out The Middleman, takes its name from The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Anton Wilson. The EP is being released on the 19th April via Evil Speaker Records.