Album Review – Jesse Welles – “Middle”

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photo: Hannah Gray Hall


#560 (Country Rock), and #571.1 (Folk-inspired Americana) on the Country DDS.

It is difficult to impossible to be accused of falling into hyperbole when trying to articulate the creative explosion that songwriter Jesse Welles has been riding upon for going on a year. A pioneer of what could be called “fast folk” where he synthesizes current events in real time into incredibly clever, complex, and insightful songs, he makes wickedly entertaining music while somehow overriding the political and cultural binary that so many musicians, pundits, and the public itself have fallen prey to.

Even before Jesse Welles wrote, recorded, and released this fully formed 10-song studio album amid sometimes daily song releases on social media, his musical output hovered somewhere near the impossible. Just like all of his songs and endeavors, Middle meets or exceeds expectations, despite the lofty ones Welles continues to set for himself.

Jesse Welles takes the complex thoughts, opinions, worries, and fears that anyone who endeavors to lead an examined life is challenged with on a daily basis, and somehow simplifies them into succinct phrases matched to original melodies. Nothing is off the table when it comes to what Jesse Welles might tackle next, and perhaps he’s even better when he challenges your belief system as opposed to affirming it.

But Middle is less concerned about tackling the news, and more interested in zooming out to address more broad, and more difficult subjects like God, war, and religion. It’s also unafraid of taking a more simplistic approach to more common subject matter, like love, and leaving the heady thoughts for another time. Middle also proves that Jesse Welles isn’t just a one-trick pony. He’s an artist who could be defining of our time.

Middle is a folk rock and country project that delves into the war we all wage inside our heads where our self-righteous ego attempts to wrangle control for our more cool-minded rationality. You want to be conscious of others in the world, and how your daily actions can affect things on a global scale. But you can’t be so eaten up by the troubles of the world that you begin to lose touch with it. This is all so well-articulated in the opening song “Horses.”


Welles invites you to listen closely, because at any point he could drop a dollop of wisdom whose teaching could be prophetic. He says early on in the second song “Certain,” “You’ll become what you hate if you seek to replace what you hate.” It’s lines like this that speak to this contentious moment when otherwise rational people let their emotions get the best of them, and they become the very thing they despise.

We knew whatever Welles delivered in this album would include landmark writing. Translating what he does into the full band aspect was the challenge. To help, Welles solicited the services of producer Eddie Spear, who faced similar challenges working on Zach Bryan’s American Heartbreak, and recently shared in Sierra Ferrell’s four Grammy wins for her album Trail of Flowers. Both of these albums were also named Saving Country Music Albums of the Year.

Even when Middle turns loud and electric, it always includes a rootsy and earthen approach to the music. “Anything But Me” is a legitimate country song, and a track where Welles doesn’t try to outdo himself, finding a sensible, poetic mood. The next song “Every Grain of Sand” is even more country. If nothing else, Jesse Welles is an artist for the moment. And though his background is in rock, he understands the potency of country and roots sounds in the present tense, and how perfect of a medium they are for his songs.

Accessibility is another positive attribute Welles has weaved into his music, despite the weighty nature of the material, and this is extended further through this album. Melody construction is often the under-appreciated portion of songwriting in Americana circles, and no different than his lyrics, Welles is a marvel at finding the right notes for his words. The second half of the album does trend a little more obtuse. But Welles also gives plenty for listeners to unravel in repeated listens.

Sometimes while you’re living through moments, it’s hard to assess the gravity of them. But what Jesse Welles is expressing and accomplishing feels like it will stick out like a sore thumb when history looks back at this tumultuous time to find someone who spoke to this era, and encapsulated it in song. It’s nothing short of Dylan-esque. Middle is far from mid. It will be a significant part of that Jesse Welles legacy.

8.2/10

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Jesse Welles is the reigning Saving Country Music Songwriter of the Year. He was also just named as the recipient of the Newport Folk Festival’s 2025 John Prine Songwriter Fellowship.

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