Man In The Middle Album Review

A unique unplugged collection of tunes, which are refreshingly up-tempo, full of character and feeling, presented not in your normal laid back light acoustic mode, but played with a harder edge. It’s not dominated by placid acoustic guitar and vocals, there are drums that are clearly heard, full of rocking fills and driving beats delivered very adeptly by drummer Jonathan Wilson. The album is full of stirring tunes with strong themes and emotions, and a nice mix of tender ballads and great rocking numbers.

Song writer and lead singer Adam Usmani’s vocal is very strong and earthy, as he breathes through the tones his sound is reminiscent of Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder. Adam’s working class themes are undoubtedly delivered by someone who is struggling with it, his frustration and bewilderment of the daily grind are expressed very well in songs like Man In The Middle, Workingand Inquisition the later with sweet violin from Coralie Usmani.

Unproven and My Friend are great upbeat numbers with grungy funk rhythms and cool backing vocals, a nice soft pillowy bass from Ross Larsen can be heard very well driving the track Fast Lane.

The slower softer ballads like Trying, Temptation and Day Before are worth an extra listen, I enjoyed Intention, a brooding and atmospheric piece, and also the intriguing Hurt Myself complimented with very nice violin string picking and serene backing harmonies.

In summary Man In The Middle is an interesting debut album full of emotion and atmosphere and even though it follows typical song structures, it is delivered with a fresh unplugged “live sound” that keeps it real and matches the core working class theme to a tee, and makes it well worth a listen!