Stephen Becker - Middle Child Syndrome (2024) [Hi-Res]

The songs on Stephen Becker’s gorgeous and unorthodox third album Middle Child Syndrome revolve around themes of decay and permanence. Memories fade or change form rather than disappearing entirely. Becker evokes this effect through playful, engaging compositions that combine a classic singer-songwriter sensibility (see especially Elliott Smith and Paul Simon) with elements of jazz, baroque pop, and outré indie rock.

Becker is an accomplished live and session player who has played with Katie von Schleicher, Rubblebucket, Market, more, and his virtuosity (he plays most of the instruments on his records) is one of the many enjoyable aspects of his ambitious solo music. He showcased his range on his 2022 debut LP A Calm That Shifts; the record inspired Spill Magazine to call Becker “that rare breed of artist that is able to combine seemingly disparate musical elements and make them sound as if they belonged together from the start.”

Middle Child Syndrome pushes toward greater experimentalism and immediacy simultaneously, exploring Becker’s recent and distant past with whip-smart disquisitions on non-communicative relationships (“The Answer”), demoralizing familial conflicts (“Fury”), imposter syndrome (“Range”), and more. In his stream-of-consciousness mini-epics, Becker wages daily battles against microaggressions, existential dread, and other forces which affect his ability to connect with individuals, form a community, and fall asleep.