Nervous Dater – “Middle Child”

Nervous Dater – “Middle Child”

We named Nervous Dater one of the best new bands of 2017 after they released their debut album, Don’t Be A Stranger, that year. Today, they’re finally announcing their sophomore album — it’s called Call In The Mess and it’ll be out next month.

“Middle Child” is its lead single and, bolstered by a careening hook and Rachel Lightner’s wordy and introspective lyrics, it hits on the same sweet spot that their debut did. “Middle child, only girl, mom says I can’t take off my shirt,” Lightner sings on it. “Pace around the apartment for hours/ Stare at the wall and cry in the shower/ I wanna feel special but I know I’m not.”

The song, and the album as a whole, deals with Lightner coming out as nonbinary. “‘Middle Child’ is a culmination of, ‘Ok, you’ve known this for a while, you aren’t a girl,’ and being inspired by friends gave me the freedom to reassess my own identity and come to terms with it in my own way,” Lightner said in a press release.

Check it out below.

TRACKLIST:
01 “Middle Child”
02 “The Dirt”
03 “Nothing Left”
04 “Farm Song”
05 “Tin Foil Hat”
06 “Violent Haiku”
07 “Turn Them Ourselves In The Grave”
08 “Red String Map”
09 “Everything Right”
10 “Good Luck”

Call In The Mess is out 2/26 via Counter Intuitive Records.

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