With the new release of the anthemic “Brooklyn. Friday. Love,” we’re four singles into the run-up to The Midnight’s upcoming album, Heroes, and it’s clear the album will find the bicoastal duo deep into 1980s Robert John “Mutt” Lange territory.
The famous producer behind gigantic-sounding albums like Def Leppard’s Hysteria and The Cars’ Heartbeat City helped craft a memorable blend of rock and synth-pop that relied on infinite layers of a harmony of raw and polished sound and color, tailor-made for arenas and stadiums (and, probably, something even more stratospheric). On cuts like “BFL,” and previous singles like “Change Your Heart or Die” and “Heartbeat,” Tim McEwan and Tyler Lyle (and friends) have shown that their path forward is less the late-night, monitor-lit synthwave of their past and more these big sounds that better fit their growing (and very sold out) live shows. And the result is spectacular.
It might seem odd that people who came from a country-tinged singer-songwriter background (Lyle) or a mainstream pop production track (McEwan) could bring out the “Animal,” but it’s really not. They’re professionals through and through, and harbor an immense talent to match, resulting in an ability to tackle a variety of different styles that yield rewarding results — think of the sonic differences from debut LP Days of Thunder to EP Nocturnal and albums Kids, Endless Summer, and Monsters. It would be weird as hell and a profound bummer if they were trying to do the hundredth version of “Sunset.”
Heroes, the third in the Kids-Monsters-Heroes trilogy, is out Sept. 9 via Counter Records (a Ninja Tune imprint). However, you can of course pre-order it in various formats right the fuck now. The band is also poised to tour. They also have cool merch.
Don’t forget to read these defining interviews The Midnight did with Vehlinggo: the big one from the Nocturnal era and a more recent one looking back at five years of Endless Summer. Speaking of five years, don’t miss their exclusive track on Vehlinggo‘s 5 Years comp. There are still CDs and cassettes available.
