Rich Aucoin did not have the greatest time in Costa Rica last year. Famously, his laptop was stolen in January, and the better part of a new album disappeared along with it. Originally intending to piece what remained of the album together before recording it in Toronto with plans of releasing it in April of 2017, a four-song EP is now slated for March. ‘The Middle’ is the second track to be released as a video from the Hold EP, and features stop-motion illustrations from animator Meags Fitzgerald, and hovers somewhere around the conundrums between the peaks and middle-age.
The track offers a far more fleshed out counterpart to the previously released, and aptly titled, ‘Release’ which provided a more ambient and lyricless sound, and equally ambient video featuring Aucoin floating off the coast of Nova Scotia.
‘The Middle’ is comparatively rich. The video is full of metaphors about life. Like life itself, the video is full of secret reveals, and unexpected turns. It look at the challenges of how we come to see ourselves, perhaps objectively, at different stages in that journey.
Among the surprises in the video, Fitzgerald is seen animating it ambidextrously. Also, there’s a cat.
“It’s about the self reflection one experiences at the perceived midpoint of life and the request to take a moment to pause and take it all in before hurrying down the hill to our deaths,” says Aucoin.
Rich Aucoin will be heading out in support of the release with a string of tour dates later next month. Hold EP is for release on March 16th, 2018.
Tour Dates:
Feb 20 – Montreal, QC – The Ritz
Feb 21 – Ottawa, ON – House Of Targ
Feb 22 – Guelph, ON – The eBar
Feb 23 – Hamilton, ON – Mills Hardware
Feb 27 – Brooklyn, NY – Elsewhere
Mar 1 – Toronto, ON – The Drake