THE MIDNIGHT
excavate the beauty
& brutalism of adolescence
on new album
“MONSTERS”
OUT JULY 10
VIA COUNTER RECORDS / INERTIA MUSIC
Lead single
‘DEEP BLUE’
out now!
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Photo credit: Nicole Mago
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This week, The Midnight announce MONSTERS, their new album to be released July 10 on Counter Records / Inertia Music. MONSTERS finds the duo of Tyler Lyle and Tim McEwan, who’ve gone from online cult fascination to the #1 spot of the Billboard Electronic Album Chart, creating a sweeping sound that fuses Americana archetypes with an evocative electronic palette referencing synth-driven film scores, deep house, pop, and rock. MONSTERS sees a continuation of The Midnight’s immersive world-building that has attracted a rabid fanbase – a communal coalition of internet culture obsessives, bedroom producers, Tumblr goths, cosplayers, teenagers, their parents, and everyone in between – who have been pining for a new album for almost two years.
The lead single ‘Deep Blue’, is a thrilling synth-romance epic that climaxes with its narrator losing control amid a whiskey-fueled tryst and a cavernous saxophone solo.
“MONSTERS is the story of being a teenager,” says the band. “Adolescence is messy, tragic, brutal, wistful, and beautiful. MONSTERS is all of that.” From the album artwork by Aaron Campbell to the song titles, the record excavates teenage emotions through nostalgic touchstones – the early internet, VHS tapes, Playstations, movie posters – to recreate the thrilling and crushing experiences of those tumultuous years.
Whether it’s the filtered, faded vocals of ‘America Online’ that express an almost repressed, earnest adolescent longing or the coy come-ons of the percussive ‘Dance With Somebody’, MONSTERS operates in a universe where every emotion is treated with life or death import. It’s an enveloping depiction of a time when life is outsized in every way, and its overwhelming sense of romance is intoxicating — the result is a masterful collage of the entire 50+ year history of electronic pop from John Carpenter through to Vaporwave and The Weeknd, agape at the endless possibilities of sound and sensation.
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Tyler Lyle and Tim McEwan, were initially brought together at the suggestion of a musical colleague. Instrumentalist and producer Tim hails from the UK and Denmark and came up producing hip-hop and pop acts, while singer/ lyricist/ guitarist Tyler grew up in rural Georgia and was a singer-songwriter who also worked with folk and country stars.
The band’s fateful pairing yielded their debut album DAYS OF THUNDER (2014), which showcased their quickly realized potential on concert staples ‘Gloria’ and ‘Los Angeles’. Onward they’d delve further into the human condition as they released popular albums ENDLESS SUMMER (2016), NOCTURNAL (2017) and the Billboard Electronic Album Chart #1 KIDS (2018).
Over the years, the band have created a safe space for all of their fans through the dreamy yet vulnerable world they’ve built. They’ve amassed hundreds of millions of streams and built a thriving online community that convenes on message boards and the band’s dedicated Reddit to remix tracks, discover easter eggs in their artwork, and opine about theories and personal connection to the music. Their passionate fanbase has also propelled them from their very first shows in 2018 to sold-out shows in 2,500-capacity venues (including The Novo in Los Angeles and Roundhouse in London) and appearances at major festivals including Electric Forest, Firefly, and Forecastle.
On April 18, The Midnight hosted ‘One Beating Heart: A Livestream Fundraiser for COVID-19 Relief’, in which the duo brought together their musical friends to talk and perform and raised thousands of dollars for Plus 1’s COVID Relief fund, which in turn supports organizations including Sweet Relief, Center for Disaster Philanthropy, World Central Kitchen, Partners In Health, and Trans Lifeline.
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MONSTERS by The Midnight
is out July 10 on Counter Records / Inertia Music
Pre-order: HERE
The Midnight
MONSTERS
1. 1991 (intro)
2. America Online
3. Dance With Somebody
4. Seventeen
5. Dream Away
6. The Search for Ecco
7. Prom Night
8. Fire In The Sky
9. Monsters (feat. Jupiter Winter)
10. Helvetica
11. Brooklyn
12. Deep Blue
13. Night Skies
14. City Dreams (interlude)
15. Last Train
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AMNPLIFY – DB
My nickname is “The Amnplifier”. Why? Because around here my focus is on being a conduit for providing greater outcomes that people come here for. My day to day “work” is living in the moment, and I love helping others concentrate on finding their connection to themselves through their experiences.
Why start a music environment? The truth is I love music, I love writing, and I love life. I work with musicians every day, and I feel certain that I will be until they put me in the ground. I have been managing people in businesses of some sort for over thirty five years so along the way I have developed some “wisdom” from my regular and constant “observations”.
Amnplify your experience. That is what we want you to do here, and if you want to let me know why you do, or don’t, shoot me a message on Facebook.
Hope you enjoy yourself here and find something that hits you somewhere.
