Malcolm Middleton - Sleight Of Heart
Malcolm Middleton • Sleight Of Heart
Following last year’s critically acclaimed album ‘A Brighter Beat’ and his fab Christmas release ‘We’re All Going To Die’, Malcolm Middleton is back with a stripped-down, acoustic album.
The album is made up of tracks that were written during the sessions for ‘A Brighter Beat’, so if you enjoyed that album you’re on to a sure thing with ‘Sleight Of Heart’. The first few songs really set the pace for this album, they are well written and performed. There’s a great line in the opening track ‘Week Off’; “I’ll write a good song just give me more time, it’s easy hating yourself it’s hard making it rhyme”, but if ‘Sleight Of Heart’ proves anything it’s that Middleton doesn’t need any more time to write a good song, there’s plenty of them on here.
One of the most charming things about this nine track album is Middleton’s voice, by no means is it extremely strong or powerful, but his Scottish accent shines through and it gives him a really unique edge. It’s the sort of voice that lodges in your mind and becomes instantly recognisable. The other thing that really stands out on this album is the eclectic choice of cover versions, you can hear Madonna’s ‘Stay’, Jackson C Frank’s ‘Just Like Anything’ and a sprightly version of ‘Marguerita Red’ by King Creosotes.
Overall, ‘Sleight Of Heart’ is a solid album from one of the UK’s fastest rising stars, and with Middleton already working on the follow up album it shouldn’t be too long until we hear from him again.