Richard Dawson
End of the Middle
Release Date: Feb 14, 2025
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Indie Folk
Record label: Domino
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Album Review: End of the Middle by Richard Dawson
Satisfactory, Based on 4 Critics
Based on rating 4.5
One of his most accessible and oddly comforting records sports nonetheless an emotional edge that can catch you unaware The last time we heard from Richard Dawson was 2022’s The Ruby Cord, a immersive, complex album set in a virtual reality future which concluded a trilogy that explored a range of social attitudes told from various individual perspectives over a period of thousands of years. The first track alone lasted for 40 minutes and the album as a whole was, in turns, abrasive, noodling and often heart-stoppingly lovely. With that trilogy out of the way, Dawson returns to a more contemporary setting on End Of The Middle.
Based on rating 3.7/5
Only Dawson can make collapse sound so hauntingly beautiful I don't think I need to explain to y'all how shit is hitting the fan really hard right now, but what I can do is telling you to listen to one of the most relevant songwriters of our times: Richard Dawson. The End of the Middle continues his streak of deeply conceptual folk albums, navigating the liminality of collapse - whether this collapse is societal, personal, or even musical. Dawson has a unique way with words to effortlessly capture the unease of a world teetering on edge, where past structures crumble, and the future remains elusive.
Based on rating 1/10
Much of the discussion about the solo work of singer-songwriter Richard Dawson paints a picture of him as an outsider folk figure. He is perhaps a one-person vanguard, though his idiosyncrasies ensure that his particular approach to guitar and storytelling through song is not replicable and not likely to spark a musical revolution. The content of his work supports such characterization.
Opinion: Fantastic
Richard Dawson (or "just Rich," as he suggests on the cover of his new album) is a wildly inventive musician. His work with Hen Ogledd made pop songs stranger and more exciting than almost anyone had done before. His record with Finnish metal band, Circle, was awesomely unclassifiable. Bulbils, his duo with Sally Pilkington, born in lockdown confinement, released endless mini-albums of pure expression.
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