Song Premiere: Midland, “Drinkin’ Problem”

Drinking has a unique relationship to problems: it can solve them, create them, or, more often than not, blur the line between the two. Dripping Springs, TX trio Midland explore that fraught relationship in “Drinkin’ Problem,” a Dwight Yoakam and Laurel Canyon-indebted tune co-written with Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne that serves as the lead single off their forthcoming self-titled EP, due October 28 via Big Machine Records.

“We love songs that have the ability to work their magic on you whether you’re getting ready to go out on a Saturday night or you’re in the dumps come Monday morning,” the band’s Cameron Duddy says. “‘Drinkin’ Problem’ is meant to be just one of those songs. Its tongue-and-cheek lyric is underpinned by a very honest musical arrangement, so it rides the line between serious and fun (it’s also seriously fun to play live!). Our protagonist refuses the assessment of those around him as he continues towards his downward spiral in a blaze of glory… Aren’t those the best antiheroes? It’s an ‘I dont give a damn what you think about me’ archetype that we’ve romanticized with a mid-tempo mellowness.”

Listen to “Drinkin’ Problem” below.