Rich(ard) Dawson returns with news of his latest record End of the Middle. While Dawson is no stranger to big musical ideas, be it opening his 2022 album The Ruby Cord with a world-building 41-minute track or writing epic songs from the perspective of a seed in collaboration with the Finnish experimental rock band Circle, here Dawson dials everything down. “Everything is held back and soft.” By stripping things to a bare bones essence, what is revealed is a remarkably poised, oddly elegant and beautiful collection of songs – unquestionably some of Dawson’s finest work to date.