Medium Build - “Never Learned to Dance”

SXSW 2023 - OEB Score: 8; Popularity Index: 4

Pairs Well With…The War on Drugs, Del Water Gap, Lord Huron

While Medium Build take on a dreamy, indie-rock space on latest EP Health, one steeped in Americana and alt-country tones, there are moments of pop build that make their songs stand out beyond open, sonic pastures. Every instrument is pushing in exactly the right place on Health, down-home percussion, rollicking guitar picking, light synth soundscapes, coming together with the experience that comes from the Alaskan band’s already deep catalog. Seven years and four full-lengths since their debut Falling Apart, Medium Build’s growth comes from both getting tighter and finding more opportunities to stretch. Space acoustic numbers pair with emotive, mid-tempo tracks and the occasional rambler, adding breadth to a base sound that never loses it’s personal, intuitive core. Medium Build are the kind of band that you hear and are surprised they aren’t widely known already, and perhaps the isolated location of Alaska has something to do with that, but SXSW 2023 could be an opportunity for the music world to play some catch-up on this solid and consistent roots-rock band. (Kevin McStravick)