Middleman share "Vacant Days" single from upcoming debut album + announce UK tour
Debut album from London DIY four-piece
FFO Powerplant, Hotline TNT, The Wipers, The Replacements
Middleman
Share New Single, "Vacant Days"
Debut Album, Following the Ghost
Due 13th February 2026 via Evil Speaker Records
Announce UK Tour in March
London DIY four-piece Middleman have shared a second single, "Vacant Days" from their forthcoming debut album due 13th February 2026 via Evil Speaker Records.
"Vacant Days" is a brilliant depiction of singer Noah Alves’ versatility as a vocalist, as he swings between mellow and sweet tones to ones that are angsty and scratchy. “‘Vacant Days’ to me really balances the mix between the harsh and melodic,” he says. “In a funny way it’s the epitome of the sound we want to make.”
"The song explores a self-destructive nature but in a sympathetic way. I was reading 'Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements' when I was writing the lyrics and I think it kind of cemented this idea."
Watch the video below, made by Otis Harding-Hill...
Middleman - "Vacant Days"
Video: https://youtu.be/fXtGJ7nwork
Streaming Services: https://ffm.to/middleman-vacantdays
Following the Ghost Album Preorder:
https://singinglight.ffm.to/middleman-ftg
Live:
5th December - Portsmouth - Rail Social Club
21st February - London - The George Tavern
4th March - Cardiff - Venue TBC
5th March - Nottingham - Venue TBC
6th March - Manchester - Venue TBC
7th March - Leeds - Boom Leeds
8th March - Sheffield - Delicious Clam
Watch the video for previous single, "The Furthest Place"
Made up of Noah Alves, Harper Maury, Rory White and Ted Foster, Middleman's sound recalls the taut, wiry assault of Mission of Burma; the raspy yet melodic charge of The Replacements, and the pioneering punk of Wipers, fleshed out via the more restrained and tender moments of Big Star or Neil Young. But despite sonic echoes of previous eras, their songs feel fresh and current, mirroring the album's lyrical exploration of how being chained to the past can hinder your forward momentum into the future.
Capturing all the intensity and vivacity of a young band bursting with new ideas, Middleman have garnered heavy interest and buzz since they formed and released their first EP, Cut Out The Middleman, as a three-piece back in 2022. By the time 2024’s John Dillinger Died for You EP came out, there had been plentiful amounts of gushing press, countless radio plays, a live BBC Radio 6Music session for Marc Riley, and tours with Powerplant and Island of Love, as well as playing with the likes of Hotline TNT, High Vis and CIVIC.
Praise for Middleman:
"To say that this would be a progressive leap for the band would be an understatement, with this latest single showing why our undivided attention should be with Middleman."
- So Young
“I'm quite partial to a punk rock sound that has just a hint of American hardcore about it"
- Steve Lamacq
“... it is the guitar that really dominates the sound. Something in the guitar attack, harmonics and even the tunes, suggests Wire and other early punk pioneers.”
- Louder Than War
“Fusing old-school hardcore and three-chord punk with the early dissonance of Sonic Youth, the quartet have a definite sound whereby good old-fashioned songwriting and a DIY ethic take precedence over the often hollow contemporary ornamentation. This is proper music that resonates.”
- Far Out Magazine
“Really cool stuff that must sound great live.”
- Maximum Rock n Roll
More about Following the Ghost...
“It’s hard to find your way, following the ghost,” sings Noah Alves on the title track from Middleman’s debut album, as the band explores ideas of how being chained to the past can hinder your forward momentum into the future.
It’s a theme that is peppered throughout the album from its very first notes. On the opening ‘CSN’ Alves muses – on top of driving riffs and pummelling drums – about navigating modern life while dreaming of a past world populated by people like Crosby, Stills and Nash and the allure of getting sucked into the romance of it all. “Ideas about authenticity definitely crop up quite a lot,” Alves says. “And nostalgia too – looking at the past with a focus on how our perception of this can be distorted. I wouldn’t describe it as anti-nostalgia but more how nostalgia can be damaging when you feel like the best stuff is in the past and there’s nothing new and exciting to be done.”
This creates a thrilling duality to the debut LP from the London DIY four-piece made up of Alves, Harper Maury, Rory White and Ted Foster. They are all young, in their early-to-mid-twenties, and very much focused in the now, harnessing an energy, urgency and rawness that feels fresh, alive and viscerally present. However, it’s also clear there’s a deep love of music that was made before they were born: the taut, wiry assault of Mission of Burma; the raspy yet melodic charge of The Replacements; the pioneering punk of Wipers, fleshed out via the more restrained and tender moments of Big Star or Neil Young. The result is a beautiful dichotomy of a record that both pays tribute to a rich musical lineage that the band are a part of, while also resisting the urge to get sucked into a dead end of nostalgia, mythology and recycling past glories.
Noah and Harper met going to hardcore shows in their mid teens and formed the foundations of Middleman. Rory was added as lead guitarist in 2023, which created an intricate counterbalance to the driving melodies. Ted, who has his own indie rock project Bloody Death, joined on drums in 2024, and brought his experience in songwriting as well as recording.
Having previously recorded at the London DIY mecca, Fuzzbrain Studios, the band are part of a rich collection of new, young bands for whom independence, autonomy and community are integral to their ethos and operations. “It’s incredibly important,” the band explain. “On the surface it’s as simple as saying if you wanna get something done or make something, go out and do it yourself without having to wait around for it to fall into place perfectly, but it’s also a lot more than that.” For Middleman, it’s about creating a like-minded network and support system that can help foster and nurture creativity. “We’re surrounded by a scene of artists, photographers, musicians, people who put out records, and these are all our closest friends. Everyone can help each other out in a mutual way – it’s a reassuring dynamic when it feels like the rest of the world doesn’t function like that.”
After two EPs, by the time the band got into the studio to record their debut album, they were in a perfect sweet spot of being tight and experienced enough to approach the record with an assured sense of confidence, but also still raw enough to give the album a real sense of snarl and bite. Again, this is another of the dualities that plays out across the record. “We wanted to balance songs between more punky ones and slightly softer ones,” says Alves. “On our previous two EPs, we recorded live with very few overdubs, with the main focus being to capture the live energy, but on this album we thought more about the composition of the songs. That energy is still there but there’s some things we hadn’t done before such as adding some subtle tambourine and acoustic guitar, which I think makes the songs sound richer and gives them more texture.” The band also cites how a collaborative process to songwriting has shaped their sound, with the four member working on their own parts whilst giving feedback to each other.
This approach is apparent throughout the album, one that was recorded and mixed by Wayne Adams (Petbrick, Big Lad) at Bear Bites Horse Recording Studio. ‘CSN’ begins with a wonderful bit of slow-burn distorted fuzz before it rockets into an infectious surge of blistering alt-rock; ‘All But The Flame’ is a beautiful bit of hook-laden songcraft that has a guitar solo from Rory White that would make J Mascis swell with pride; while tracks like ‘Distractions’ are pure hell-for-leather overdrive charge, existing as a perfect slab of non-stop high octane Wipers-esque punk that is done and dusted in two minutes.
It’s through a thoughtful balance and explorations of sonic contrasts that makes Middleman such a unique and distinct new outfit. “We want to carry on writing songs which feel raw and intense but also carry a melody and evoke a real feeling,” Middleman conclude. “And then seeing how far we can push that.”
Tracklisting
1. CSN
2. Distractions
3. Carry The Lie
4. All But The Flame
5. Vacant Days
6. The Furthest Place
7. Long Goodbye
8. Morning All The Time
9. Following The Ghost
CONNECT:
