REVIEW: Knotted Wood – ‘Middle of Tomorrow’

Described as a record 72 years in the making, Knotted Wood’s debut album ‘Middle of Tomorrow’ is a slow-burning, finely-woven collection of lived-in reflections, poetic fragments, and emotional truths that feel weathered by time but untouched by ego.

At its core is Patrick McDaid, a Greensboro, NC native who, despite his insistence otherwise, has clearly been an artist all along. After decades of quietly writing and recording in the solitude of his home studio, McDaid has gathered up his sonic journal entries and brought them to light with a remarkable group of collaborators. The result? An album that feels both tenderly intimate and surprisingly expansive.

What makes ‘Middle of Tomorrow’ so special is its understated richness, arriving onto us like familiar companions; quietly observant, emotionally honest, and wise without being preachy. McDaid’s lyrical lens finds meaning in life’s overlooked corners: the rustle of leaves, the weight of absence, the way dreams slip into waking hours.

The title-track is a highlight, not only for its evocative story about sudden loss, but for the way McDaid’s guitar (affectionately nicknamed “Goldie”) seems to echo the unsaid. Whereas tracks like opener ‘You Are Here’ go even deeper, suggesting that our departed aren’t truly gone, just differently present.

Recorded at Fidelitorium Recordings and enriched by musicians like dAve Hollinghurst, Alec Ferrell, Eric Willhelm, and Melissa Buriss, the album never overshadows McDaid’s songwriting. Instead, it frames it with warmth and reverence as guitars shimmer, keys linger, percussion dances gently in the background. It’s a sound that gives each lyric the space it deserves.

McDaid might say he’s not a musician. But ‘Middle of Tomorrow’ suggests otherwise. It’s the offering of a storyteller who’s spent years listening closely to the world, and now, finally, is letting us in on what he’s heard. It’s music for early mornings, late nights, and the in-between places where memory and meaning settle. Quietly brilliant and beautifully rendered, ‘Middle of Tomorrow’ is proof that some voices only grow more resonant with time.