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Middling

by The Finks

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1.
I’m not ahead of my time I’m behind it I’m not a valentine I’m a paper cup If it’s a drink you’re after you won’t find it If you throw me out there won’t be washing up to do Well that’s some train track that you’ve been hugging Your face it turned black gave me a heart attack You’ve got it in for us you say it’s coming I hope it’s serious and by serious I mean you And all the old diseases well I caught ‘em I drank from inkwells suffered fainting spells And what’s the word it’s French for boredom If books were get-wells I’d need library shelves in here And all these weddings I can’t afford ‘em If it’s worth doing don’t do it yourself And happy endings you can’t ignore ‘em We’re a shoo-in we’ll inherit our wealth my dear It’s not like I’m hopeless There are certain things I’ve learned to recognise I’m no expert but I’m old enough And a simple no would have sufficed It’s not wonderful but it’s quite alright They’re not taking everything we’ve got I’m no surrogate I won’t fight your fight I’ve got mine and it’s not worth a lot Your two cents two cents
2.
Scuttlebutt 03:18
I’m far from innocent You’re always shooting your mouth off I was born in a tent I lost the keys to your house I’ve heard worse things have happened at sea That’s where you happen to be so I’m stuck with me I’m no soldier’s wife I’m not baking you biscuits I’m working nine to five Collecting hobbies like sixpence And sure I could learn to love it The shorter end of the stick’s being stuck with me I forgot what you told me Are you sleepless and lonely You can lie if you want to Tell me a dream worth retelling A secret worth selling If that’s what it’s come to I think that’s what it’s come to
3.
Old Life 05:10
Another city for the weekend You stop by to see an old friend You work the year you spend the stipend On yourself A sun that’s coming out from hiding Your bathers on the dashboard drying On Railway Street the smell of ironing And no one home you’re on your own Another kitchen in another Boy’s apartment just for fun you Spend a night and do a runner When morning comes you call your mum Old life
4.
If you’re nursing a broken heart I’ll do my best to help you forget it If you can’t seem to tell the day and your doona apart What’s in a name If the past is just something you did Could you trade in your future for credit If your friends are all writing a novel or having a kid Who’s to blame Is it safe to assume that I’m wrong Truth be told I won’t let it Get in the way of this old suffering song It’s not such a shame It’s just one of those things Suffering song suffering song Sing your suffering song And we’ll all sing along
5.
Jamie’s got a better half A baby by another man She keeps me round just for a laugh She says that I don’t understand He’s a tosser he’s a total prick But sometimes that’s the point of it All happened so fast When I woke up in the morning she was home Jamie’s got me working nights It helps me to forget I guess She’s got four hands two pairs of eyes She hides the bump beneath her dress Is it reverie or complacency She says she needs the company And doesn’t even mention me She wakes up every morning and I’m home Jamie’s sisters both suspect That I’m the one to blame for this They’ve lost the plot I’m circumspect I’ve never really wanted kids I love her though her lover’s gone And left us with an only son I’m hoping there’s forgiveness yet I don’t want to wake up to find her gone
6.
I’ll admit that I’m wrong if you tell me I’m pretty Would you tell me I’m pretty in a letter I guess I could find a boy they’re a drag it’s a pity They all just say that I’m pretty etcetera Now I’m walking a dog it’s my job it’s not funny Okay so maybe it’s funny but sure I’ve taken to baking I’m skipping on study I’ve been saving my money I don’t know what for You see it all the time (all the time) It happened to a friend of mine (You’re no friend of mine) I’m trying to live by the truth but the truth’s In the telling I’ve got something to tell him To get off my chest but every time I’m sincere It’s like there’s something I’m selling As if there’s something I’m selling that old chestnut You see it all the time (all the time) It happened to a friend of mine (You’re no friend of mine) Good intentions misplaced affections I’m trying to live by the truth but the truth’s In the telling I’ve got something to tell him To get off my chest
7.
Now I’m older I don’t sleep much anymore I’m renting our room To a younger man with a kind and broken face From El Salvador He asks me how long can I stay on How long is too long Now I’m older I don’t eat much anymore I’m taking my pills With a grain of salt a glass of wine or two They say obesity kills You might ask me how long can you go on How long is too long Now I’m older I don’t speak much anymore I measure my words And my lodger talks Spanish to his girl I can hear them from the porch She asks him how long will you be gone How long is too long
8.
I never lived outside of home until I got a job inside a hospital I wasn’t looking but I fit the bill I was a kid I was impressionable I pushed a trolley with a firm mattress I flirted with the nurses on nightshift I put compassion before common sense And learned to navigate the difference I got a place above a cobbler’s shop I’d come home mornings when he’d open up He’d sweep the pavement with a kitchen mop He lived out back we didn’t talk a lot I lived off cereal and Burger Rings The smell of glue and leather furnishings I tried to have a nap most evenings I’ve never had so many lucid dreams If I wanted nothing more than to tolerate myself I got there in the end if I wanted something else I went back to bed I went back to bed
9.
There’s no weaker wind than a lie from your mouth There’s no sadder sight than a weekend in this house I’d trade a month of Sundays For five dark minutes with you If you really loved me like you say you do It’s wanderlust not common sense Why would I want to live anywhere else If you really loved me like you love yourself I would have worn a dress or something Would have washed behind my ears If you really loved me like you haven’t in years
10.
You don’t have to tell me twice The longer memory gets The more you get to wondering It’s nothing if not nice It’s all Benny and the Jets It’s nice enough it’s nothing less I don’t sing that song anymore

about

The Finks are a collection of people and ideas based around the songs of Oliver Mestitz. Middling is their fifth release in as many years.

Following the all-acoustic Lucklaster (2014) and a piano-and-vocals EP, Settling (2015), Middling captures The Finks with a rhythm section, three shared vocalists and guest appearances on guitar, piano and cello.

Middling was written and recorded by Oliver at home using an 8-track cassette mixer. He played almost everything himself, layering instrument upon instrument and mixing each song straight to tape.

To listen to Middling is to step through the front door: the guitars are warm, the piano slightly wonky, the vocals echo off the floorboards and the windows let in sounds of traffic, birds and rain.

credits

released October 7, 2016

Featuring Sarah Farquharson (vocals, cello), Madeleine Duke (vocals), Matthew Dwyer (piano on 3, 5, 8) and Jake Core (guitar on 6). Mastered by Mikey Young. Released through Milk! Records, 2016.

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about

The Finks Melbourne, Australia

The Finks play the songs of Oliver Mestitz. They are sincere but flippant, intimate but aloof, subtle but unpolished.

The Finks have released a steady stream of quietly uncompromising music via Milk! Records since 2012 – three EPs, two cassettes, four LPs and a handful of singles. Critics have described The Finks as “crushingly beautiful” and “perhaps the most underrated act in Australian music”.
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