Imagine a Spanish game show from 1982, in which a perma-grinning assistant showcases spectacularly naff prizes. The music for this scenario is borrowed by Shetland folk droners Middle Class Guilt for the start of the video for ‘Skald’ – their third single from upcoming second album Their King of Comedy. The band stand stationary and bemused while a mime artist mingles. She then closes a clapperboard and the track begins.
The band state that ‘Skald’ is “haunted by the spectre of JJ Haldane Burgess” who was instrumental in the creation of the Shetland festival Up Helly Aa. One of my earliest memories is of seeing a Viking ship being set on fire in Lerwick in about 1985. My therapist assures me that this has had no lasting impact on my mental well-being. Of the aforementioned video, Middle Class Guilt go on to explain that it “resembles the often disorienting effect of spending Up Helly Aa night in one of Lerwick’s halls with the coming and going of the guisers and their acts.” Brilliant.
Like preceding single ‘The Golden Tiger’ (you can read the Joyzine review here), ‘Skald’ is a piece in two parts: the first is inspired by traditional Shetland music, and the second section is an epilogue with a guitar solo that you’ll wish is much longer. The first part is most certainly disorienting, with time signatures being lobbed in like pennies in a well. Frontman Joseph Morgan vacillates between calm baritone and love-denied preacher: “A fire fuelled by paraffin / I dream of you most nights!” The ship is somewhat steadied in the second part, though Morgan lurches into declarations of affection: “I love you and I miss you!”
The artistic seriousness of Middle Class Guilt can be summed up by referring to a segment of the ‘Skald’ video: a Greggs sausage roll is dipped whole into a tub of mayonnaise before a foot massage is administered with the now roll-flavoured condiment. If Talking Heads had enjoyed themselves a bit more, they might have sounded like Middle Class Guilt.
‘Skald’ is out now via Bandcamp
Their King of Comedy will be released by Etna Records on 8th May 2026.
Gigs:
7th May – Glasgow – Nice n Sleazy
9th May – Carlisle – The Source Collective
10th May – London – Deptford Junction
11th May – Sheffield – Sydney & Matilda
13th May – Newcastle – Little Buildings
14th May – Edinburgh – Home Bar
15th May – Aberdeen – The Rusty Nail
16th May – Dundee – Music Hall
Middle Class Guilt: Bandcamp | Instagram
Review by Neil Laurenson
Keep up to date with all new content on Joyzine via our
Facebook |Bluesky |Instagram | Threads | Mailing List