The Mad Mile – Confidence Plus One (Self released)
Heading toward the release of debut album, Legroom, at the end of February London post-everything duo The Mad Mile have shared dark and brooding new single Confidence Plus One.
Artist: The Mad Mile
Track: Confidence Plus One
Label: self released
Release date: 9 January 2026
Find it: Bandcamp
Originally from Leeds and now London-based post-everything (but tether yourself to post-rock and post-emo if you must) duo The Mad Mile are about to bring us their debut album, Legroom. Before we get the long player we have latest single Confidence Plus One, and if you like your tracks both brooding and vast then this one is for you.
Opening with warmly melodic guitar, echoing and gritty half-spoken vocals, Confidence Plus One is a track of many layers. Intriguingly they don’t quite line up with each other so there’s an unsettling feeling, matched with a sense of impending doom. There’s lots of space in the melody and yet this feels somewhat claustrophobic. Darkwave, yes, but there’s also a definite vibe of ’90s alt-rock, and at several points the tease of a drop but it holds out until we’re past the half-way point. Only then do we get the big riffs, a picking up of pace, and some of these layers lining up more neatly so anxiety is replaced by (yes, of course) a more confident vibe.
‘When destinations call and the rhythm starts to form / We hide ourselves among them, confidence plus one’
Confidence Plus One follows on from Wendy Houses, released in December 2025. While sharing a gnawing guitar sound and unsettling stop-start sound the earlier single is as claustrophobic as this release is spacious. With a lyrical melody evoking nursery rhymes, Wendy Houses explores London’s nightlife and has all the feels of that end-of-the-night, lost-my-mates, head-spinning-mess when the hedonism slides toward hangover.
With more singles set to be shared ahead of the debut album, Legroom, arriving at the end of February The Mad Mile are setting quite the scene. Dark, brooding, post-everything Confidence Plus One is a single which intrigues from first listen.
Confidence Plus One by The Mad Mile is out digitally now. Album Legroom is set for release on 27 February 2026.
Find The Mad Mile: Bandcamp | Instagram | YouTube
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Sarah Lay
A long-standing music journalist she's also co-founder of independent record label Reckless Yes, an author of novels, and when not messing around with words and music, a digital strategist.
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