The Middle East - I Want That You Are Always Happy

I Want That You Are Always Happy is the full debut album of Australian septet, The Middle East. It follows their sumptuous EP (cleverly titled The Recordings of the Middle East) from last year and follows that up with more downbeat folk that doesn’t sound dissimilar from what the blender would sound like if you threw a Fleet Foxes CD in there with a Low Anthem record and a Jet minidisc. Just kidding about the Jet (ah, the fate of poor Australian bands) so maybe replace that with some barley. Yes, that’d go quite nicely. Much like this album. Won’t hit the end of year top 25 but it’s a pleasant enough record.

Part of the 2011 winter clearout - albums not reviewed when they came out but still worth sharing before the end of year lists hit.

Original release date: