Midding unleash raw, tape-driven intensity on “All For You”

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Their upcoming EP, titled .44, is due February 6 via Tough Love. A five-track collection that makes a chilling nod to Son of Sam serial killer David Berkowitz, and his ties to The Process Church of the Final Judgment. “Quiet dark subjects reflect a lot in the sound of the EP, but I don’t think it’s an EP of doom and gloom,” vocalist and guitarist Joe Woodward explains. “There’s a lot of that, but I think each song has something that counteracts the darkness and brings some light in, sort of atmospheric and heavenly.”

“All For You” is recorded on tape, permeating the track with a confined intimacy. “Working straight to cassette just gives you limitations on what you can do and forces you to be creative and think outside the box,” Woodward shares. The result gives their sound a tangible feel that teeters between claustrophobia and nostalgia.

Midding’s current lineup consists of Woodward; Cameron Wheeler on synth, flute, and guitar; Eli Allison on guitar; and Nia Abraham on drums. The project began with Woodward and Wheeler playing around in the kitchen: “[Cameron and I] recorded what was technically our first EP in our kitchen on a 4-track cassette recorder. It’s not available anywhere now, though, and there were only like 20 cassettes printed,” Woodward says.

Melody and dissonance are inseparable, on “All For You”. Screeching guitar lines cut through with desperate urgency, while the percussion anchors the track with a tense, pulsing rhythm. Vocals arrive like a strained outburst – raw and unfiltered. Lyrically, the song drifts into a space of eerie obsession, with lines like: “All I ever want from you / Is all I ever need to do”.

The track moves from raw, dissonant insistence into a softer, more melodic outro. This shift in tone brims with confidence that illustrates a musically literate band. “We all love the noise and would happily spend all day playing more noisier/experimental songs, but I say we’re also actually a very melodic band and appreciate good melodies and softer music, something like Leonard Cohen or Nico,” Woodward explains.

Adding jagged textures that scrape under the skin, the gritty, tape-recorded production cuts through the track. The sound feels at once intentional and intuitive. “I think the gritty sound comes from classics like the Velvet Underground, the Stooges, and Spacemen 3. But I think the main influences would be like all the stuff Phil Spector was doing in the 60s, and the Creation Records scene in the late 80s/90s.”

With “All For You,” Midding deliver a sonic confession that is as intimate as it is intense, cementing their place as a band unafraid to explore darkness and desire in equal measure. The track tightens their tape-worn sound without losing its edge. It reaffirms a group balancing weight, texture, and intent – refining a sound that feels fully considered but never overworked.

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