Middle Child Syndrome – “Slate”
Americana Highways brings you this premiere of Middle Child Syndrome’s song “Slate,” from their forthcoming album Listen To Me, which is due to be released in June. Middle Child Syndrome is Wisconsinite Matt Mueller, who wrote, performed, comped and produced “Slate” at his residence.
Lonesome pedal steel, acoustic guitar and an easy pace set up for Matt Mueller’s raw, emotionally connective vocals, and then it turns snappy. The hand claps lift you up to a feeling of freedom, despite the tale of grieving. “Deja deja vu, another note I leave for you…” as you are with a farmer at a widow’s grave, and he’s promising to keep things going the way they always have. Quite sad, and quite nice.
When I wrote “Slate” a few years back, I wanted to mask the song’s true meaning (a farmer at the grave of his wife, mourning her loss) behind a catchy & upbeat Americana composition. The piano + claps drive the instrumentation, but at the time, I still felt it was missing an organic feel. That changed last year when I picked up my pedal steel guitar, whose longing, lonesome sound fit right into the theme. – Matt Mueller
You can find the music here: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/middlechildsyndrome/my-dream
