The Midnight announce their UK and European tour
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info
The Midnight have just released their fourth full-length studio album, and their fans may feel it is going to switch things up – but they shouldn’t be worried.
Their previous entry – 2020’s “Monsters” – was a darker exploration of the band’s creativity, and was released at the unexpectedly perfect time: just as the pandemic was getting worse. Ingrained with teenage angst, fans lapped up the rawness of the record before things truly spun out around the world.
“Heroes” continues to tap into the band’s raw, undeniably evocative and emotional power once again – but this time, with a softer touch. Now, The Midnight are playing with compassion and delicacy at the forefront of their songwriting.
Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, the musicians opened up on their songwriting process over the past few years, and how their message has fundamentally changed. “We are all mourning something,” Lyle said backstage at Kingston’s Pryzm back in May, just hours before they kicked off their UK tour in earnest. “And it’s important for us to be here together at this time.”
READ THE REVIEW FOR HEROES HERE
Lyle told me that the running theme of “Heroes” is just that: Being together. The 13-track album is not only The Midnight’s answer to the pandemic, but to the struggles, trauma, and sorrow their fans have been suffering across the past two years as well. The Americana singer-songwriter, as the main scribe of the band, explored the narrative of “Heroes” with a simple question: “Everybody is having a hard time [and] we are all connected – how can we make it through?”
McEwan explained: “It was very important for us to make something that felt like something we wanted to do, a collective experience. That was number one on our checklist.”
Conceptually, “Heroes” is a massive shift in tone when compared to the band’s previous work. But Lyle and McEwan were already aware of that. After dropping their first single, “Change Your Heart or Die” they started seeing fans theorising their headspace online. They chuckled about fans proclaiming that this was “their new sound”. In reality, the stars revealed they don’t really think about their music within set parameters. Lyle mused that this new “direction” could be seen as more of a manual for listeners. Perhaps as a way of focusing their introspection and using it to help others.
“‘Heroes’ is this need for connection,” Lyle said. “The stage of the individual where he turns self-love into empathy. It’s very important to us to make that leap from ‘it’s all about me’ to ‘we are all the heroes.'”
Lyrically, “Heroes” is clearly a blueprint for people to connect, heal wounds and move on. Musically, McEwan has shoved the album into some interesting avenues. He likened his creative process in the record to “playing in a sandbox”. Visibly impassioned by his shiny new music, McEwan said these tracks “lend themselves to being played in a room full of people, and having everyone sing at the top of their lungs.”
It’s as if they have been penned and composed as a defiant hymn against history. “Change Your Heart or Die” is a perfect example of this; a blood-curdling, rip-roaring good-time under the microscope of some classic 1980s hair metal (McEwan mentioned bands such as Def Leppard as a distant inspiration).
McEwan has obviously been settled in the band for some time, but Lyle admitted he has only recently, truly, begun to thrive in the band. “It’s taken a long time for me to find my feet in this project,” he explained, referring to The Midnight. “It started very much in Tim’s lane as the producer, and I was there to lend top lines … it was Tim’s kind of pet project.”
It wasn’t until the creation of their second EP – 2017’s “Nocturnal” – that Lyle started to throw himself into the music a little more.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/vBuCoKT6LGg
Lyle recalled: “I started writing more song-focused songs.” Of course, since then, The Midnight have released a plethora of tracks that feature Lyle prominently or even have him performing more-or-less solo. Now, working perfectly in tandem with McEwan for (seemingly) the first time, Lyle is keen to see where The Midnight can really go. But that isn’t to say Lyle has forced any changes in the band – quite the opposite.
The Midnight’s music has changed drastically over the past ten years. Their vibe was once synonymous with a specific genre of music during their “Days of Thunder” and “Endless Summer” era. But they’re evolving. They seem to be leaving genre definitions to the artists that are trying to copy their work.
Fans have seen these changes over the years in the releases of “Monsters”, “Kids” and “Endless Summer”; subtle movements in darting directions to keep them creative and free.
Will these constant changes alienate The Midnight’s fans as the years grow old? Perhaps. Are Lyle and McEwan worried about it?
“No,” McEwan smiled. “I think it always is [a decision to change music styles] but I don’t think a fanbase should be the guiding compass for a creative direction for a band – I think that’s a slippery slope. I think you know what works … but I don’t think we ever think: ‘They [the fans] are going to hate that, so we shouldn’t do it.'”
The Midnight will likely receive some harsh criticisms for “Heroes” (just as all bands do with new music). But looking back on the criticisms they got for their previous record, McEwan pointed out: “I think ‘Monsters’ alienated people who were expecting another ‘Nocturnal’, maybe, but that album already exists! It’s fun to dip back into a familiar place – we will always be a part of the Synthwave community – but it’s also fun to venture into new uncharted territory. And I think it’s important to go a little further than where you feel safe.”
“Heroes” is certainly unsafe territory for the band, creatively, but it feels like a natural movement for them. And it’s exciting.
Even more exciting is that The Midnight have already started making plans for their fifth studio album. While McEwan and Lyle wouldn’t give any specifics, the latter teased what might be on the way next.
McEwan teased: “We’re starting to think about timelines and … we’re always in the creative process, so you’re inherently thinking about the new thing while the thing is coming out. We’ve lived with [“Heroes”] for over a year now and it’s been done for a while. And, inherently, we’re moving on to the next thing.” But, for now, the pair want their listeners to know a few important things when going into “Heroes” for the first time.
Lyle echoed the lyrics of their heart-wrenching track “Heartbeat”: “There is love enough.” McEwan agreed: “Love is not a limited resource. The more you give, the more you get back.
“[We want our fans to know] that they’re loved and they’re worthy of the life they live… that sounds cheesy, but I mean that! It’s been a very trying [time], not only the last two years, but certainly in America. People have had, myself included, mental health issues, emotional wellbeing, physical wellbeing… and for this album we tried to extend a hand.”
Lyle added that not only are they extending a hand of support, but The Midnight are giving “Heroes” to their fans. “It’s theirs too,” he said. “Once it’s released into the world. And we’re very grateful that they are fans
The Midnight – “Heroes” is out now.
Source: Read Full Article
