Picture, if you will: It’s about 5:30, maybe 5:40 in the morning. In the other room, my husband turns out the light to encourage himself towards the bed. Before I do the same, I look through the demos submitted to us and find “In The Middle Of The Night” by Siblings. The description given is blunt, yet speaks right to my heart at first sight: The song was written for the artist’s partner, Juliette, and written entirely from the heart.
Gently swaying guitars and snappy drums start the song on an immediately tender note. Paired with the hyper-saturated aesthetics and effects of the 80s and 90s beneath the filter of cross-hatching and film grain so commonly associated with VHS playback in the song’s music video (brought to us by Ben Andrewes, Aubrey Simpson, and BRAXKM) alongside the folksy tenor of the lead vocalist, the song calls to mind so many slow love ballads of a bygone era on Sunset Boulevard. Various audio effects also seem to be employed to “age” the song beyond its years; the message conveyed, however, remains ever timeless.
The songwriter noted that they had written the chorus first, letting every other verse flow how it may. The first verse calls to mind the cycle of birth and rebirth:
“You know that I’ve been traveling/In this body I was placed/Like the wheel always turning/Night brings the new day”
This idea is mentioned not to be explored but to act as the stepping stone leading to the artist’s ultimate plea:
“But it would take a lifetime/To take me away from you”
When we are brought to the chorus, we see into the artist’s heart in a moment of utmost vulnerability: bare before their love. They are searching for their love, seeking it out to take solace within it in the dead of night. To the ends of this earth, to the end of this life, the artist chases the quiet comfort of a night with the one they love and trust with their entire being.
In the other room, my husband gets up to wash his face. Our cat paws at his leg, meowing sweetly, and he responds to that demand by giving in and picking him up in his arms. At this moment, I cannot help but laugh to myself at how well-timed the little moments of tenderness in life can be. The very same feeling of total safety and unabashed joy overtakes me, and I understand at once the force possessing Siblings in the booth during recording.
After the first round of the chorus, both the music video and the song itself shine a spotlight on the saxophonist in the band. A low, rumbling note lulls the soul into tranquility, an auditory parallel to that delightful feeling of sinking into your lover’s arms. The lyrics to follow paint a vivid picture of nature with the artist’s love: Bending flowers in the breeze, still rooted firmly in the earth no matter how they’re pushed against, the expanse of their love itself like a crystal-clear ocean to swim across, mountains between them and their love climbed and conquered and given no second thought. Considering the theme invoked by the visuals and sound, Diana Ross’ cover of Ashford & Simpson’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” comes briefly to my mind in this verse.
By now, my husband has gone to bed; the TV is left running for white noise. I shut off the lights, both to goad myself in the same direction as well as for the bedroom door left open. I find myself left in longing as we are brought back into the chorus.
It is here I remember another detail within the brief description given to this demo. The metaphor “like a hand reaching across the ocean” is used, and when the artist sings of searching for love, I cannot help but wonder: Is this a long-distance relationship? Are there miles between these star-crossed lovers? States? Countries? Continents? Is this song, in fact, a reach across the ocean to reach the songwriter’s love? My own relationship began as the very same thing, with states between us crossed only after several years had passed, even since he had proposed to me. The very same emptiness and longing resonate from the vocalist as they then add to the chorus:
“With each breath, I draw/I’m breathing in our love/With every break in the day/With each age give me more/And I will give you my love/As the clouds will fade away”
We then come to the reprise of our chorus; to match the passion of the songwriter and vocalist, the drums become much more lively, the guitar emboldened as an electric joins to accent the music with suave, seductive runs and flourishes. The song does not last much longer than the last note sung, fading out to silence. Call me strange, but I count that silence when the runtime ends as a part of this song. To explain, perhaps I should pose a question in turn:
Have you ever shared a moment alone with a lover, comfortable in their arms, willing to let all the world pass you both by, as none of it would matter nearly as much as being there with them?
To that end, comfortable, peaceful silence is a goal to aspire to. I have come to know and cherish it dearly, to the point where I ache with that feeling even as I write. I know the ache to have seen far more intense in years before when more than a few silly walls separated the two of us. If the songwriter is in a similar situation, my heart goes out to them, and I wish them to unite with their partner as soon as possible. Regardless…
Siblings give us both a serenade for Juliette and a love letter to the sound and vibe of the 20th-century love ballad with “In The Middle Of The Night.” The musicians’ mastery over the idiosyncrasies of their target sound makes for a nostalgic treat guaranteed to speak even to the hearts of those who have yet to or have no desire to find the romance of their own. To those of us who relate to the heartfelt cry of the lyrics, however, Siblings instill a desire to sink into our own love and let it pour into our lungs. For that, I thank them.
I think now I will go to bed.
Written by Alexei Lee
