“Only Death Is Real” video by Midwife & Matt Jencik out now on Relapse
Never Die, the collaborative record from Madeline Johnston (Midwife) and Matt Jencik, arrives 11 July via Relapse. A video for the track Only Death Is Real, directed by Yannick Mosimann, is now online.
Artist: Midwife & Matt Jencik
Release Date: 2025-07-11
Genres: Ambient, Drone, Indie Rock, Punk Rock
Label: Relapse Records
Description: Midwife & Matt Jencik drop video for “Only Death Is Real.” Album Never Die out July 11 on Relapse; cassette‑born demos to layered vocals.
Featured image: Photo by B. William Green and Melissa Grubbs
The collaboration originated after the two artists crossed paths at shows in 2015 and 2018. Jencik began work on the material in 2019, initially planning the project with a different collaborator before enlisting Johnston. Early demos were recorded direct to four-track cassette in his Chicago basement. Once the previous partnership dissolved, he invited Johnston to contribute vocals, with the stipulation that he would handle all lyrics and melodies. She agreed, framing her role as primarily technical, layering keyboards, lead guitar and re-amping the tracks from her home studio in Trinidad, Colorado.
Despite working remotely throughout, they completed the record over the course of a year. The contrasting vocal presences—Jencik’s grounded and close-mic, Johnston’s processed and dispersed—form the structural core of the album. The music leans heavily on repetition and restraint, with slow tempos and minimal arrangements, maintaining continuity with Johnston’s prior Midwife recordings and Jencik’s post-Implodes output.
Only Death Is Real, the new single, aligns with the record’s emphasis on repetition and narrow frequency ranges. Mosimann, who directed the video, described the track as “slow, heavy, full of silence and grief, but also strangely bright,” citing the unforced nature of the collaboration as part of his attraction to the project.
Jencik initially gained notice through work with Don Caballero and Implodes, later appearing live with Slint. His solo releases, including Weird Times and Dream Character, pursued ambient, drone, and lo-fi cassette aesthetics. Johnston has recorded under the name Midwife since 2016, beginning with Like Author, Like Daughter on Sister Grotto and expanding her discography with albums such as Forever and Luminol on The Flenser. Her work often merges ambient textures with skeletal rock frameworks, describing her own approach as “heaven metal.”
The album Never Die will be released digitally, on vinyl, and cassette on July 11.
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