<span><span>- Where to begin if not with nature; human and of mother itself? <em>Alive</em>, and all that comes with it. All of the circular movements of wild emotion and of course, the fixed ending. The universal understanding of life is whatever may enter the periphery, must eventually leave. And so, <em>Forever</em>, Midwife’s sophomore album, interrogates our automatic behaviours: the lying, our loving, their lingering, while freeing the memory of the ones who have left us behind. All of this, while punctuating Midwife’s conscious, in a self-described ‘heaven metal’.</span></span>
<span><span>As humans learn how to navigate a different situation, their work reflects these new mental pathways. It’s undoubtedly the case that songwriter <strong>Madeline Johnston</strong>'s content has been influenced by geographical, communal, and personal grief. Opener <em>2018 -“this is really happening / to me / get the fuck away from me / 2018”- </em>sets out the template for the record: repetitive, transient lyrics underneath a pop-ish melody. A prerequisite for survival, confirming the thought of reality over and over and over again is the breathwork of sanity, so it’s no surprise that repetition exists here; and it wouldn’t be a Midwife record without their reverb-guitar-friendly, piano accompaniment backing, that pressages a vast, deeper, form of air.</span></span>
<span><span>Though fans of Midwife may be used to a gloomy landscape, sounds on <em>Forever</em> are high pitched, strongly built enough to fill a room (they always were), and include a touch of early <strong>U.S. Girls’</strong> experimental distortion. Tracks <em>Anyone Can Play Guitar</em> and <em>S.W.I.M.</em> Are reminiscent of early shoegaze sounds. Meanwhile, <em>Language, VOW, </em>and <em>C.R.F.W.</em> manifest the memory of a loved one with notes that grasp for a presence that once was. Once in and then -as fleetingly as their existence- out. While writing about grief Midwife has briefed us on the rhythm of life. Leaving the periphery does not equal a complete disappearance. We linger, in our personal work, or in others’, as lessons, as (e)motions, as songs.</span></span>
<span><span>Guest artist <strong>Colin Ward</strong> explains it best in <em>C.R.F.W.</em> “<em>love is a silky, breezy thread / and is not human-centered / it is the center”.</em> As people leave our lives, art leaves the artist’s hold - and we are left with the aftermath of things outside of our control. A work that is the triumph of ‘the tribute’, the thirty-four minute record dives into personal loss and comforts listeners, ill or not. <em>Forever</em> is a teaching moment in choosing to live under ‘why not ?’ instead of the implausibility of a forever life. <em>Midwife</em> has produced a resonant act of love.</span></span>
<span><span>- Tara Garman.</span></span>
<iframe style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2239905918/size=large/bgcol=f…; seamless><a href="http://midwifemusic.com/album/forever">Forever by Midwife</a></iframe>