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Artist...: The Midnight
Album....: Monsters
Genre....: Electronic
Label....: Counter Records - COUNTCD198
Source...: Cdda
Url......: https://www.themidnightofficial.com/
Size.....: 345.73 MB
Playtime.: 58:04
Type.....: Album
` Release..: 2020.07.12
Encoder..: Flac 1.3.1
` Quality..: 821k/ 44.1kHz / Stereo
.
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| | | |
| . | | . |
| : | | : |
| l | | l |
| X | | X |
| X | 01. 1991 (Intro) 00:27 | 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 | 58:04 min| 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) ù released :'
`:nearly six years to the day from their debut LP Days of :'
`:Thunder ù 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, weÆre brought into the world of online :'
`:services, simple website designs, and dilemmas both big and:'
`:small. ôAmerica Online,ö 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 æ80s and early æ90s, and :'
`:especially the World Wide Web later on, promised a global :'
`:interconnectedness that would change humanity forever. :'
`:However, it wasnÆt 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 ôopen:'
`:upö again. When LyleÆs queries about acceptance and love on:'
`:ôAmerica Onlineö come into play through some disembodied :'
`:sound effects, itÆs a question of both concern and curiosity'
`:that he ultimately answers: ôWe are all one beating heart.ö:'
`:Utopia is possible, perhaps! :'
`: :'
`:Zooming in on the teenage experience I had online in the :'
`:æ90s, IÆll just say that the unmeasured moods of adolescence'
`:didnÆt 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 ôIWhoAmUndercoverö than it was in person. When'
`:youÆre a teenager, everything feels like high stakes, even :'
`:if it isnÆt. 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. ItÆs not'
`:a stretch to refer to Monsters as The MidnightÆs Pet Sounds.'
`: :'
`:The jubilant Æ80s Phil Collins vibes of ôDance With :'
`:Somebodyö bring you to the high-school dance floor, where :'
`:merely asking someone to dance, and actually dancing with :'
`:them if they say ôyes,ö 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. (ôLook at those suckers smiling and dancing!ö) The :'
`:Hughesian pink-hued ôProm Nightö ups the stakes even more: :'
`:ôHold her hand,ö Lyle sings, ôWeÆll never pass this way :'
`:again.ö An overflow of beautiful synths, some glimmering :'
`:guitars, and a purposeful drum machine reinforce the :'
`:urgency. If you donÆt dance now, you never will. ItÆs now or'
`:NEVER. The energy required for this much urgency is immense.'
`:The festival-ready ôFire in the Skyö has this ferocious :'
`:energy that only teens have ù it practically summons the :'
`:Four Horsemen with its intensity. :'
`: :'
`:The lo-fi hip-hop-tinged and crystalline ôSeventeen,ö 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 theyÆre 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 ôbig decisionsö 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. ôAmerica Onlineö was :'
`:merely a teaser into this inclination. :'
`: :'
`:The laidback ôDream Away,ö 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 :'
`:LyleÆs reassurances that no matter how lost you feel, :'
`:thereÆs a community looking for you. There are three :'
`:instrumental passages situated throughout the album that :'
`:carry on this atmosphere. :'
`: :'
`:The first is ôThe Search for Ecco,ö which follows ôDream :'
`:Away.ö It works like an epilogue to the latter. ItÆs a :'
`:blissed-out, ocean-gaze number akin to the work of Seahawks,'
`:another favorite duo of Vehlinggo. It works as a great :'
`:transition between ôDream Awayö and ôProm Night.ö :'
`: :'
`:Another cut in the New Age vein is ôHelvetica,ö which takes:'
`:the natural-world elements of ôDreamö and ôEccoö 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 whatÆs before it ù the:'
`:absolute banger title cut featuring The Midnight affiliates:'
`:Jupiter Winter ù and what comes after ù the subdued and :'
`:beautifully reflective ôBrooklyn.ö :'
`: :'
`:ôCity Dreams (interlude)ö incorporates parts of ôSeventeenö:'
`:and takes it down a K-hole of vaporwave-induced :'
`:transcendence. ItÆs a hypnotic number. If you put it on :'
`:repeat, the endless loops help foster creativity for your :'
`:writing or artistic projects. Even if you donÆt 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 :'
`:ôLast Trainö from the classic sounds of ôDeep Blueö and the:'
`:haunting ôNight Skies.ö :'
`: :'
`:ôLast Trainö creates a perfect circle for the record ù Lyle:'
`:again declares that weÆre 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 ù adult emotions in'
`:a kidÆs body ù theyÆre 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 theyÆre also a period of great joy and personal:'
`:discovery. And, naturally, some of that will still be :'
`:happening online ù utopia or not. :'
`: :'
`:McEwan and Lyle are constantly refining synthwave with their'
`:gifted songwriting and ambitious sonic exploration such that'
`:theyÆre not really a synthwave act anymore. Their genre is :'
`:merely The Midnight. :'
`: :'
`:Are you ready for whatÆs next? I sure am. :'
. ......... .
. ................... .
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: | `:::::::' | :
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_|__| ` |__|_
__ _________.' | | `._________ __
_ _____________ _ _______________ S! | .
______ _____ / __ __ _____ /__ __ ____ i .
_/ ___/ | ___/ /__| |__| | | ___/ / /__| |__ \__| i__
|________. |__________________.| |______/_______ ___\_____ __/
|__| |_____ _ |__| . |__|
__ _________ . c r u e l t y . _________ __
`. | _ ___ ____ ____ | .'
"|""| | | | ___| ___| |""|"
| | ` | | | |
: | ` ._______| | :
| ------- |
: """""" :
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