Jesse Welles: Middle [JESSE WELLES]

Why you'll love it

The indie exclusive gatefold pressing, with a photo booklet of lyrics and credits. Jesse Welles became one of the most talked-about songwriters in America by filming topical songs on his phone, and Middle is where those songs sit beside some of his most personal writing.

This edition

• Gatefold jacket
• Photo booklet with lyrics and credits
• Indie exclusive, on his own label
• Twelve songs, six per side

About the album

Jesse Welles comes from Arkansas, plays an acoustic guitar and harmonica, and writes the kind of songs that used to be passed around coffee houses: sharp, funny, angry and specific about the world as it is right now. He built his audience by filming those songs outdoors and posting them online almost as fast as he wrote them, and a huge number of people turned out to be waiting for exactly that. Middle collects a batch of them with proper recordings and plenty of breathing room.

"War Is a God" is the one that cuts deepest, a plain-spoken protest song that lands harder for not raising its voice. "Horses," "Fear Is the Mind Killer" and "Wheel" show off his wordplay, "Why Don't You Love Me" and the title track are tender and bruised, and he tips his hat to the songbook with "Simple Gifts" and "Rocket Man." It is folk music in the old sense, songs about the news that still sound good once the news has moved on. That is harder than it looks, and he makes it look very easy.

Tracklist

Listen

On Jesse Welles' own label, first out in 2025.