Midland's records seem to reflect his surroundings. As his music moved away from the bassy UK house of the late '00s, it became tougher and more expansive, reciprocating the needs of the clubs and festival stages where Harry Agius was DJing. Which could explain why his dance tracks can feel more like a mirror of those places than an outpouring of emotion. (His recent side project, the contemplative pop of Akase, highlighted that difference.) Graded, Agius's three-year-old label, is home to some of the darkest and most compelling Midland records, and his third for the label, Blush, is mostly in that vein.
Agius' magpie tendencies surface on both the title cut, which captures the mood of The Knife's "Silent Shout," and on "Hold Up," a twitchy techno track. Those two stylish and spacious productions absorb the eclecticism gracefully. The only middling moment, "Outpost," seems to be in need of a more interesting muse. The track opens promisingly, but the deep house chords that later buff its sliding, metallic notes give things a familiar and not especially dazzling hue.
Agius' magpie tendencies surface on both the title cut, which captures the mood of The Knife's "Silent Shout," and on "Hold Up," a twitchy techno track. Those two stylish and spacious productions absorb the eclecticism gracefully. The only middling moment, "Outpost," seems to be in need of a more interesting muse. The track opens promisingly, but the deep house chords that later buff its sliding, metallic notes give things a familiar and not especially dazzling hue.
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