Teagan Faran - Middle Child

​Teagan Faran

Middle Child
Navona Records; 2025

TOP ALBUM

By Matt Jensen
​

Teagan Faran’s MIDDLE CHILD is as much a meditation on identity as it is an experiment in form. Built around Johannes Brahms’ Intermezzo Op. 118, no. 2, the album reimagines the piece as a throughline, morphing through the hands of different artists in wildly different styles. Released through Navona Records, it’s an ambitious, shape-shifting collection that pulls from contemporary voices like Leilehua Lanzilotti and Jens Ibsen, bridging classical tradition with the cutting edge. The result is an album that feels fluid yet intentional, a cohesive statement even as it constantly reinvents itself.  

The album opens with "O Superman (For Bach)," an eerie, layered piece that blends sweeping strings with fragmented, vocal transmissions. It feels like a conversation between centuries, gradually unraveling into a ghostly, choral climax that hovers somewhere between the sacred and the synthetic.

The quiet hum of "ko'u inoa" follows, a sparse but hypnotic piece where violin and voice fade in and out like a mirage. Faran’s take on Brahms’ "Intermezzo" is one of the album’s most cinematic moments—sharp, elegant, regal, as if soundtracking an elaborate period drama where the past looms heavy. The way this track breathes and expands makes it one of the standout moments, balancing historical reverence with modern experimentation.  

The album isn’t afraid to take detours. "stir crazy" is jagged and unpredictable, as if ripped from the soundtrack of a surrealist Charlie Kaufman film. The way it bends and shifts feels almost unsettling, like reality slipping just slightly out of place. "Outermezzo for Fiddle" is one of the boldest experiments here, flirting with electronics and a jittery, insectoid flutter that teeters between anxiety and awe. Then there’s "Watch Over Us," a controlled chaos of unraveling strings and spiraling uncertainty, leading seamlessly into "FARAHMS," a glowing, meditative exhale that feels like arriving at some long-awaited spiritual plane. The introduction of spliced electronics in the latter track is particularly well done.  

As the album winds down, it offers glimpses of more traditional classical textures. "Temptress" and "Iridescent" carry a timeless grace, their melodies unfurling with precision and warmth. "Hypnagogic" plunges into a dreamlike unease, reminiscent of The Caretaker’s disorienting soundscapes. The frenetic "Life is like a Washing Machine, You Never Know What You’re Gonna Hit" delivers some of the most impressive technical playing on the record, its chaotic energy perfectly captured. Closing track "Casimiro" brings things to a thrilling conclusion, its dramatic, high-stakes intensity making it feel tailor-made for an action sequence.  

MIDDLE CHILD is an exceptional, genre-warping feat that feels both deeply personal and expansively collaborative. I think fans of Max Richter, Jóhann Jóhannsson, and Greg Haines will feel at home here.

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