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Jul 28, 2023 By Andy Von Pip Photography by Seiya Taguch

Australian three-piece Middle Kids have revealed a new track titled “Highlands,” which arrives with a highly cinematic video directed by Toby Morris. The video features stunt driving, helicopters, horses, motorcycles, and the Southern Hemisphere’s largest car-wrecking yard. Morris took the band to shoot in the New South Wales highlands surrounding Jindabyne.

“Highlands” showcases Middle Kids’ unrivalled knack for crafting soaring anthemic indie rock, powered by Hannah Joy’s remarkable vocals. It’s the band’s second song produced by Jonathan Gilmore, who is renowned for his work with The 1975 and Beabadoobee, among others.

Lead singer and songwriter Joy said of the song: “Since I was young, I’ve had this yearning to be free. In this song, I used an image of the ‘highlands’ as a euphoric place where I have the space to be me, and you have the space to be you. Part of the imagery comes from my Scottish heritage, which my grandmother was always so proud of. I recorded some big slow piano chords which Tim mangled into the atmospheric hits in the intro.

When we finished the song with Jon Gilmore in the UK, he thought it was important that the song felt punky, like a bunch of teenagers practising in their garage. So, there are these 2 energies fighting it out - the constricted energy of the domestic space and the wide-open energy of the highlands. We have a friend who calls this kind of music ‘yearncore.’ It’s that impatient energy that says, ‘I can’t keep waiting, I need a change’.”

The band’s last album, the critically acclaimed Today We’re The Greatest, won Best Rock Album at the 2021 ARIA Awards. Released at the height of the pandemic, the album garnered the band several US TV show performances including Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and The Late, Late Show with James Cordon. Read our interview with Hannah Joy here