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Artist...: The Midnight
Album....: Monsters
Genre....: Electronic
Label....: Counter Records - COUNTCD198
Source...: Cdda
Url......: https://www.themidnightofficial.com/
Size.....: 114.40 MB
Playtime.: 58:05
Type.....: Album
` Release..: 2020.07.12
Encoder..: Lame 3.1
` Quality..: VBR / 44.1kHz / Joint Stereo
.
. .--- .
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| |
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| | | |
| . | | . |
| : | | : |
| l | | l |
| X | | X |
| X | 01. 1991 (Intro) 00:28 | X |
| X | 02. America Online 05:50 | X |
| X | 03. Dance With Somebody 04:18 | X |
| X | 04. Seventeen 04:03 | X |
| X | 05. Dream Away 03:39 | X |
| X | 06. The Search For Ecco 04:05 | X |
| X | 07. Prom Night 05:02 | X |
| X | 08. Fire In The Sky 04:09 | X |
| X | 09. Monsters (Feat. Jupiter Winter) 03:18 | X |
| X | 10. Helvetica 05:17 | X |
| X | 11. Brooklyn 04:14 | X |
| X | 12. Deep Blue 03:58 | X |
| X | 13. Night Skies 03:05 | X |
| X | 14. City Dreams (Interlude) 02:17 | X |
| X | 15. Last Train 04:22 | X |
| X | | X |
| X | 58:05 min| X |
| X | | X |
| X | | X |
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. - : : - .
:: . . ::
`:::: . . ::::'
:: ::
`:::: . . ::::'
:: ::
`:::: . r e l e a s e . n o t e s . ::::'
`:The Midnight are supremely talented at building entire :'
`:worlds on a bedrock of universal themes and eminently catchy'
`:hooks. :'
`: :'
`:The first time this was wholly realized was the 2018 album :'
`:Kids, which seemed to conjure memories of childhood :'
`:innocence amid the dissolution of the American Dream in the:'
`:1980s. On new album Monsters (Counter Records) — released :'
`:nearly six years to the day from their debut LP Days of :'
`:Thunder — the duo of Tim McEwan and Tyler Lyle study the :'
`:fiery extremes of adolescence through a lens of wistfulness:'
`:for the early 90s. The result is an extraordinary body of :'
`:songs and instrumental segments that form a true, full-album'
`:experience. With that in mind, Monsters is best heard as a :'
`:whole. :'
`: :'
`:From the moment Monsters kicks off with the familiar squawk:'
`:of a dial-up modem, we’re brought into the world of online :'
`:services, simple website designs, and dilemmas both big and:'
`:small. “America Online,” a single from 2019, is the first :'
`:full song following the intro. Its Pure Moods-style new age:'
`:vibe pulsates with a hypnotic catchiness in a dark, :'
`:monitor-lit bedroom at 3 a.m. :'
`: :'
`:The online services of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, and :'
`:especially the World Wide Web later on, promised a global :'
`:interconnectedness that would change humanity forever. :'
`:However, it wasn’t long before it all failed to live up to :'
`:the promise of that utopian intent. Instead, the Internet :'
`:has largely connected us on superficial levels at best, or :'
`:degraded society at worst. With the onslaught of the COVID-:'
`:19 pandemic, the internet has become our main way to connect'
`:with each other even as states and countries start to “open:'
`:up” again. When Lyle’s queries about acceptance and love on:'
`:“America Online” come into play through some disembodied :'
`:sound effects, it’s a question of both concern and curiosity'
`:that he ultimately answers: “We are all one beating heart.”:'
`:Utopia is possible, perhaps! :'
`: :'
`:Zooming in on the teenage experience I had online in the :'
`:‘90s, I’ll just say that the unmeasured moods of adolescence'
`:didn’t completely dissolve even as I went down the :'
`:information rabbit holes that existed long before Wikipedia.'
`:Not sure it was a utopia. On AOL Instant Messenger :'
`:friendships and even romances would form, because it was :'
`:easier to deal with crushing rejection online with a :'
`:username like “IWhoAmUndercover” than it was in person. When'
`:you’re a teenager, everything feels like high stakes, even :'
`:if it isn’t. Much of rock history centers on this concept, :'
`:but The Midnight bring the idea to the nostalgia-minded, :'
`:contemporary-pop realm with much depth and breadth. It’s not'
`:a stretch to refer to Monsters as The Midnight’s Pet Sounds.'
`: :'
`:The jubilant ’80s Phil Collins vibes of “Dance With :'
`:Somebody” bring you to the high-school dance floor, where :'
`:merely asking someone to dance, and actually dancing with :'
`:them if they say “yes,” is like solving world peace. This is'
`:an especially potent message for those who were like I was :'
`:my first couple years of high school: A wallflower cynical :'
`:about the idea of just having a little fun every now and :'
`:then. (“Look at those suckers smiling and dancing!”) The :'
`:Hughesian pink-hued “Prom Night” ups the stakes even more: :'
`:“Hold her hand,” Lyle sings, “We’ll never pass this way :'
`:again.” An overflow of beautiful synths, some glimmering :'
`:guitars, and a purposeful drum machine reinforce the :'
`:urgency. If you don’t dance now, you never will. It’s now or'
`:NEVER. The energy required for this much urgency is immense.'
`:The festival-ready “Fire in the Sky” has this ferocious :'
`:energy that only teens have — it practically summons the :'
`:Four Horsemen with its intensity. :'
`: :'
`:The lo-fi hip-hop-tinged and crystalline “Seventeen,” one of'
`:my favorite songs on the album, seems to be a brief flash- :'
`:forward to those teens as adults. Maybe they have :'
`:adolescents of their own and they’re looking back at what :'
`:seems to them to be easier times. The haze of memory is a :'
`:great friend to nostalgia, after all. The searing guitar :'
`:solo is like a chariot of reminiscence, carrying people to a'
`:place where the “big decisions” of who to ask to prom :'
`:retrospectively seem minuscule. Funny how the past always :'
`:seems simpler, regardless of your age. :'
`: :'
`:A standout artistic choice on Monsters that sets it apart :'
`:from previous releases from The Midnight is the influence of'
`:90s acts like Deep Forest and Enigma. “America Online” was :'
`:merely a teaser into this inclination. :'
`: :'
`:The laidback “Dream Away,” another of my favorite cuts on :'
`:the record, embodies a modern-but-nostalgic New Age vibe. :'
`:One notable element is a pitched-down sample of an :'
`:Indonesian woman singing and another is the ambient murmurs:'
`:of the rain forest. Atop are a cadre of mallet stabs and :'
`:Lyle’s reassurances that no matter how lost you feel, :'
`:there’s a community looking for you. There are three :'
`:instrumental passages situated throughout the album that :'
`:carry on this atmosphere. :'
`: :'
`:The first is “The Search for Ecco,” which follows “Dream :'
`:Away.” It works like an epilogue to the latter. It’s a :'
`:blissed-out, ocean-gaze number akin to the work of Seahawks,'
`:another favorite duo of Vehlinggo. It works as a great :'
`:transition between “Dream Away” and “Prom Night.” :'
`: :'
`:Another cut in the New Age vein is “Helvetica,” which takes:'
`:the natural-world elements of “Dream” and “Ecco” and pairs :'
`:them with some delayed, pitch-shifted synths and house- :'
`:inflected drums to create the feeling of very late-night :'
`:YouTube rabbit holes into obscure electronic music. It also:'
`:serves as a transition point between what’s before it — the:'
`:absolute banger title cut featuring The Midnight affiliates:'
`:Jupiter Winter — and what comes after — the subdued and :'
`:beautifully reflective “Brooklyn.” :'
`: :'
`:“City Dreams (interlude)” incorporates parts of “Seventeen”:'
`:and takes it down a K-hole of vaporwave-induced :'
`:transcendence. It’s a hypnotic number. If you put it on :'
`:repeat, the endless loops help foster creativity for your :'
`:writing or artistic projects. Even if you don’t put it on :'
`:repeat and instead let it flow naturally, the New Age :'
`:tapestry has much to value. Like the other instrumentals :'
`:above, it also creates a great transition to album closer :'
`:“Last Train” from the classic sounds of “Deep Blue” and the:'
`:haunting “Night Skies.” :'
`: :'
`:“Last Train” creates a perfect circle for the record — Lyle:'
`:again declares that we’re all one beating heart. But by this'
`:point the themes and sentiments are mature and McEwan and :'
`:Lyle have clearly set the stage for the third album in the :'
`:Kids trilogy. :'
`: :'
`:Now that The Midnight have contemplated the various monsters'
`:that menace developing adolescent brains — adult emotions in'
`:a kid’s body — they’re ready to dive into discussions of our'
`:contemporary experience. Your 20s, 30s, and beyond have even'
`:grander decisions that carry sometimes everlasting :'
`:consequences that we wear on our backs like a sack of :'
`:bricks; but they’re also a period of great joy and personal:'
`:discovery. And, naturally, some of that will still be :'
`:happening online — utopia or not. :'
`: :'
`:McEwan and Lyle are constantly refining synthwave with their'
`:gifted songwriting and ambitious sonic exploration such that'
`:they’re not really a synthwave act anymore. Their genre is :'
`:merely The Midnight. :'
`: :'
`:Are you ready for what’s next? I sure am. :'
. ......... .
. ................... .
: .....::::::::::' :
| `````:::::::' |
: | `:::::::' | :
| | `..:' | |
_|__| ` |__|_
__ _________.' | | `._________ __
_ _____________ _ _______________ S! | .
______ _____ / __ __ _____ /__ __ ____ i .
_/ ___/ | ___/ /__| |__| | | ___/ / /__| |__ \__| i__
|________. |__________________.| |______/_______ ___\_____ __/
|__| |_____ _ |__| . |__|
__ _________ . c r u e l t y . _________ __
`. | _ ___ ____ ____ | .'
"|""| | | | ___| ___| |""|"
| | ` | | | |
: | ` ._______| | :
| ------- |
: """""" :
' ''''' `
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