SINGLE SPOTLIGHT: Midwife - “NMP”

 Released: March 14th, 2023

The Flesner

Bandcamp / Instagram / Spotify

First off, big apologies for no post on Tuesday. Have been fighting a sudden, bed-bounding illness on top of still trying to contend with an extremely busy week. As I’ve certainly been well reminded, you truly can’t make both things work without ending up crashing; So, I had to take a couple days down, mostly today as I write this, in order to heal up. That said, listening to Midwife’s newest single, “NMP” is the exact spot of hot tea and blanket-cuddling soundtrack I needed. So for today’s late-afternoon edition of SINGLE SPOTLIGHT we’ll be talking all about this ethereal, 7 minute and 45 second track, in all its dark ambient, healing glory.

The song begins with a somewhat decadent, reverbed guitar that already starts striking the strings of the heart with a shoegazey pluck of bliss and melancholy. A feeling of happy and sad in simultaneous form, this seems to be a theme of many songs Midwife has written, and the result is always something of pure magic. Joined by none other than dark-heavy, Violet EP sound weaving genius, Vyva Melinkolya, the song is an immaculate work of dreamy, somber, and passionate art. All the vocal passages throughout the song add to this layering of enchantment and audible comfort.

The song, whether intentional or not, casts a vision of accepting the end of one’s life, in my opinion. Or at least it matches the energy of a scenario similar, perhaps in more a metaphorical sense. ‘And when I see it, it’s so perfect; No more pain. I promise to be kind…’ These simple, yet powerful lyric lines only add to that speculation, as I see this song as an anthem of sorts to an eye-opening, humbling epiphany one reaches. The audible equivalent of redemption, if you will, it’s very easy to hear and see why Midwife is an endlessly alluring and inspirational figure to all those listening and paying attention.

It’s been nearly two years since the release of Luminol, but having singles like this to hold us over till the next full-length are graces of angelic quality. “NMP” is no exception to this, as it truly embeds itself into the nervous system and traces its way through the heart and mind, generating a mellow, yet content feeling that almost acts as an audible anesthetic. I, of course, mean that in the best way possible, and not in any way that implies this song is boring, unless you’re just not a fan of more atmospheric, dark ambient, shoegazey stuff. But in that case, I dare say you’d know Midwife and be reading this article anyway.

Sail away with the waves and blissful tides of “NNP” at any of the links posted at the start of this article! Be sure to keep up with all things Midwife and Vyva Melinkoyla on all available socials! Both artists are truly masters of their craft and deserve your attention immediately. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Midwife live once with Nothing in 2021, but long for another chance to! Not to mention, Vyva certainly is on my bucket list as well…