Hello, everyone! My name is Nick Forney, I’m a guitarist and avid music-enjoyer located in Phoenix, AZ (Foster here. Nick is also part of an awesome shoegaze band, Twinstar...) and I’m super excited to lend my thoughts to Mouths Made Wordless! My taste usually ranges from slow and sad to fast and sad, but I enjoy all kinds of music. On any given day you would probably find me at a local show or shiny-hunting for my favorite Pokémon.
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| photos stolen from online. |
Rock N Roll Never Forgets begins with droning strings laying the backdrop as light, delayed chords fill the space. Midwife’s classic, warm, saturated vocals enter in tow, dipping in and out to allow the listener time to notice the small details in the bed of strings, now haunted by quiet, shrill guitar lines and incredibly distant pads. And, once the slide guitar comes in, it’s all over. I’ve used this song (and whole album) to lull myself to sleep plenty of times. That being said, this isn’t one for the impatient! But it’s very worth it--just lay back and let it wash over you.
Autoluminescent. In this song, Midwife seems to be wrestling with the bipolar nature of her self-assuredness. While at times it feels like an affirmation or declaration, the lyrics are riddled with indecision and worry. “I am heaven sent / I was a nightmare / But I’m not gonna go there again” and “I’m bigger than Jesus Christ / I’m greater than God in light / I am dangerous / I cut like the sharpest knife” stand out. A beautiful song, probably my favorite off the album.
Droving. Aimlessness is the first word that comes to mind when listening to this song. The airy atmosphere and eerily-hanging synths fill the mix with a sense of weightlessness. Johnston’s words themselves describe this song better than I could; she says, “It’s about the transient nature of what we do, our bodies are vessels--our bodies are, together, a vessel, a vehicle, and that togetherness allows us to become something larger than ourselves in the slipstream of the unconscious, droving.”
Vanessa. This song is an ode to one of Madeline’s lost companions--her van. There is a certain bitterness in the song, though, and the tone evokes an almost stressful response. Fitting, as those feelings are certainly involved with losing, and/or having trouble with, a vehicle. This is a simple one, but good.
Killdozer. Named after the unstoppable bulldozing man that “terrorized” the streets of Denver, Colorado, Midwife uses this song to vent about the state in which she finds the town that raised her into the artist that she is now. She laments, “There used to be a city here / now it’s a dying breed." Johnston moved to Colorado for college, where she found herself going to shows at the DIY artist space, Rhinoceropolis. After going to shows for years, in 2014 she eventually got the opportunity to live there, and so catapulted her dedication and passion towards music--and doing it full time. You can really feel the connection she has with this place, as the lyrics often read as if they’re about a former lover (something that’s true for nearly every song on this album).
Better Off Alone. Much to my surprise, this song is a cover of the hit dance track, Better Off Alone by Alice Deejay. At first I didn’t recognize the song by name, but listen to it and you’ll remember. Midwife’s rendition is a beautiful, entrancing ballad laced with a pensive sadness. Similar to many songs before, this is built on a clean strumming electric guitar and the alternation between Madeline’s vocals and various synth and guitar leadlines.
No Depression In Heaven. The album title and titular track are named after the song of the same name [although stylized “No Depression (In Heaven)”] by The Carter Family. It was written and recorded in 1936 during the great depression, and links economic security with emotional wellbeing throughout the song. Midwife’s song is a little more simple in its lyricism, the only lyric being “crying” repeated again and again. It’s a good sendoff for the album and has a little more melodic variation than most of her songs.
While being slightly unremarkable on the surface compared to some of Midwife’s more immediately striking work, No Depression In Heaven offers a deep, meditative look into Johnston’s inner world--possibly more than we’ve ever seen prior. There is so much this album can communicate to a listener, through not only the vocals and lyrics, but also the emotional soundscapes created in each song.
Within the bleakness of this album’s dour imagery and presentation lies a uniquely retrospective and bittersweet project which deviates just enough from the common themes of grief, pain, and, namely, depression found in Midwife’s discography, to offer some relief in these ruminations. This isn’t to say these things aren’t to be found here, it is Midwife after all--her music is intently made to exercise those feelings and thus provide “Midwife” and the listener a space to commiserate. Simply put, this time around, there is a bit more room for romance.
8.5/10
Stream No Depression In Heaven.
-Nick
See Midwife on tour with Blood Incantation.
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