midmajor = major-label sound, major talent. Nothing mid about ’em.

It’s rare that I hear a new band and immediately connect with their songs, sound and singer’s voice. What makes this one even more remarkable is that I discovered them completely by accident. I recently subscribed to an AI tool called Yutori Scouts and turned it into a full-time digital A&R scout (note, this is different than Yutori.com which appears to be a new offering focused on fully autonomous task execution and follow-through, different URL, different offering). Think of it like a much smarter, more proactive version of Google Alerts. I trained it to continuously search the web for newer unsigned bands making melodic, hook-driven, radio-friendly rock in the spirit of artists like Goo Goo Dolls, Matchbox Twenty, Keane, The Killers, Snow Patrol, Foo Fighters, Third Eye Blind, Jellyfish, Dirty Honey, and Nothing But Thieves.

I specifically asked it to prioritize:

• strong vocals

• memorable choruses

• traditional guitar/bass/drums arrangements

• emotionally mature songwriting

• verse/chorus song structures

• melodic, accessible rock songs that still feel current

I told it to ignore anything overly experimental, shoegaze, scream-heavy, EDM-driven, or drenched in lo-fi haze. I wanted real songs, real hooks, real bands. Then I pointed it toward the places unsigned artists actually live: Bandcamp, SoundCloud, TikTok, Spotify, YouTube, indie blogs, college radio charts, and distributor ecosystems like DistroKid and TuneCore.

So far it has uncovered a number of interesting musical acts, but so far, two stand out: midmajor (they spell their name in all lower case letters), and Matt Fisher and the Telephone Junkies. Both artists are excellent, but today I’m writing about Mid Major. More on Matt Fisher in the next post.

There’s a lot to love about midmajor. Their sound is big without being overproduced. No bloated walls of synths. No impossible studio-only guitar stacks. Just a real rock band making real records that I suspect sound just as good live as they do on Spotify — and I mean that as a massive compliment. Too many bands today can’t reproduce their own recordings on a stage.

midmajor keeps it simple: guitars, bass, drums, hooks. The singer has a ripping tenor voice with just enough character in the delivery to make you lean in. My favorite track, “I’m Not Right,” hooked me immediately with its opening line: “You can be honest with me, I know I’m not right…” That’s how you open a song. Vulnerable, direct, memorable.

The video for “I’m Not Right” was filmed at the Melrose Billiard Parlor in Nashville after the band put out a call for extras on Instagram. It’s first-rate. Whatever they spent on it was money well spent because it perfectly captures the band’s sound, personality, and energy.

But as much as I liked the official video, it was their genius “Microsoft PowerPoint” lyric videos that absolutely killed me – KILLED ME! Whoever came up with the idea of presenting a rock song like a painfully corporate office presentation deserves a raise. The second I saw it, I thought: “Why the hell didn’t I think of that?” It’s clever, funny, weirdly relatable, and completely memorable. Honestly, you haven’t fully experienced midmajor until you’ve watched one of their PowerPoint-style lyric videos, so here’s a link:

And if you’re not laughing when the signature guitar riff hits and the screen flashes the phonetic masterpiece “BANANENEOUW,” I honestly can’t help you. You may simply be immune to joy. Avoid comedy clubs. You’ll hate them.

What makes it even better is that this kind of genuinely clever humor is showing up inside a song that’s actually pretty heavy lyrically. That contrast is part of what makes the whole thing work so well:

“I’m sorry for what I said when I was drunk. When I was broke
Cause nobody tells you poverty can weigh like it’s a joke
(screaming at the top of his lungs – shrieking almost:) It aint no joke!!!!!!!!!!!!”
(From their song, “Feeling Nothing Life”)

midmajor has all the pieces: talented musicians, a memorable lead singer, a rock-solid drummer (damn, can this guy lay down a foundation!), a bass player who understands how to support a song instead of stepping on it, and a lead guitarist who knows how to decorate a track without overwhelming it.

What impressed me most is that every member seems to play exactly what each song calls for, and nothing more. No showboating. No self-indulgent parts. Everything serves the song. That level of restraint and discipline is rare in younger bands. If these guys aren’t doing session work in Nashville, they probably should be. What a phenomenal collection of musicians. What great songs.

I hope midmajor keep going. Too many great bands come out swinging, only to get financially steamrolled by the modern streaming economy. Streaming pays artists roughly $0.0033 per stream— and a lot of genuinely talented bands never recover their recording and marketing costs long enough to build a real career.

midmajor deserves a big career. A long career. They’re making the kind of smart, melodic, well-played rock music that should still have a massive audience. I hope we hear a lot more from them. And in my own small way, I’m happy to send a few more listeners their direction.

P.S. You won’t find articles on this Substack that are critical of bands, musicians, or songs. Airline executives? Yes. Hate-em. But bands, and musicians, songwriters and people who try to eek out a living making art? No. Never. If you find a band or artist on UnSignedSongs.com, it’s because I love what they do, and I’m writing about them in an effort to share the joy of discovery. The world has enough people crapping on us. I won’t be one of them. I’ll crap on airlines and insurance companies all day. But not the bands or artists I feature on this Substack.