Where do you go in a town full of ghosts
And everybody knows your name
And all the homecoming queens in the small town scenes
They'll offer you a place to stay
Some want forever instead of whenever
When they're naked in the light
It's a strange little potion but sometimes the motion
Almost makes you feel alive
And everybody knows your name
And all the homecoming queens in the small town scenes
They'll offer you a place to stay
Some want forever instead of whenever
When they're naked in the light
It's a strange little potion but sometimes the motion
Almost makes you feel alive
—"Jason"
The Midnight is a Synthwave band formed in 2012 between singer-songwriter Tyler Lyle and producer, songwriter and singer Tim McEwan. The main themes of the band include a bittersweet nostalgia for days gone by and the melancholy of looking back into the past from the present. Unlike many other bands in the genre The Midnight features vocals on most of its songs with only a small handful of purely instrumental tracks to be found on each collection. To date they have released several popular studio albums along with a number of EPs and singles and have enjoyed a moderate amount of success in the mainstream.
Not to be confused with Midnight, a metal band founded in 2003.
Discography:
- Endless Summer (2016)
- Kids (2018)
- Monsters (2020)
- Heroes (2022)
EPs:
- Days of Thunder (2014)
- Nocturnal (2017)
- Horror Show (2021)
The Midnight provides examples of:
- Album Title Drop: Listeners can usually expect each of their albums to have at least one song named after the title along with lyrics referencing it.
- Animated Music Video: Their video
for a collaboration song they did with Escape Plan called "Nothing Beats Like a Heart" which revolves around a small outdated robot desperately struggling to find a place to fit in after it becomes obsolete. - The Big Rotten Apple: While not quite as obvious as most other examples "Brooklyn" off of the Monsters album leans into this.Floating empire
held up by fraying wire
I'll cover you in winter like a blanket by the fire
And when the rent is too high
We'll just buy cheaper wine
And hang on to see if whether
Constellations hold together or not - Bland-Name Product: A recurring pizza restaurant called Pizza Zone can be seen regularly showing up in the background of artwork and videos.
- Book Ends: The first track of Monsters after the intro is "America Online", which repeats the lyrics, "Are we all one beating heart?" This question is answered with the last few sentences of the album's closing track "Last Train", which confirms, "We are one beating heart."
- Broken Record: Their single "C O L D P I Z Z A" is an almost purely instrumental track whose only lyrics are the title repeated about a dozen times at random parts throughout the song.
- Similarly, the title track of Nocturnal is just a repeat of the word "nocturnal" several times with an epic instrumental score backing it up.
- Caught in the Rain: The main subject of "Crystalline" focuses on a man and woman who hook up after meeting on a train during a downpour.Rush hour
On an uptown train
Doors open
As she walks in
She's soaking
Caught in the rain
Her skin shines
Crystalline - Computer Voice: A female A.I. voice can be heard doing support vocals on songs such as "Endless Summer" where she does the intro lyrics and "Wave" where she provides some additional singing in between the normal verses.
- Cover Version: A cover of Patti Smith's "Because the Night" is featured as the last track of the Horror Show EP.
- Drowning My Sorrows: Many of their songs make references to using booze as a medication for sadness. Take for example, "Kick Drums & Red Wine" from the Days of Thunder EP.Some look to the sky for truth
I look across the room
Katie's dress in full bloom
Yellows and blues
But I prefer kick drums and red wine
I prefer kick drums and red wine
I prefer kick drums and red wine
I prefer kick drums and red wine - Empty Shell: "Synthetic" off of Endless Summer seems to be from the point of view of someone who was reduced to this state via extreme heartbreak.I'm still alive but I can't feel
I got stuff inside but its not real
They say I'm fine but I feel synthetic
Nothing human left in me
I'm just a machine full of moving parts
I got emptiness where I used to have a heart
I'm still breathing but I'm synthetic
Nothing human left in me
Nothing human about me - Growing Up Sucks: One of the main themes of the Kids album which can be seen on the songs (both "Prelude" and "Reprise") of the same name:Kids are sad, the sky is blue
There are monsters in the spare bedroom
Kids grow up, and move away
They closed the plant and the mall arcade
Kids are sad, their parents, too
Kids get high in the spare bedroom
We grow up and move away
The seasons pass, but the monsters stay - Kids Rock: "Kids (Reprise)" features actual kids from the West Los Angeles Children's Choir singing the chorus for added effect.
- Mono no Aware: This is actually the band's main motto and its themes and meaning are explored extensively throughout their entire discography.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge: "Good in Red" is about someone taking up arms against their demons—whether physical or metaphorical.
- Shout-Out:
- "Days of Thunder" is likely a reference to the 1990 film of the same name. And "Jason" is likely a shoutout to the Villain Protagonist of the Friday the 13th franchise.
- Part of the lyrics to "Explorers" pays tribute "to the Lost Ark raiders".
- The song "The Search for Ecco" is an homage to the titular character from the video game Ecco the Dolphin.
- Their old video for "Vampires" is just a bunch of clips from Wicked City played along with the music.
- The ending of "Heroes" sounds very similar to the repeated "I want my MTV" melody from the Dire Straits song "Money for Nothing". In the live recording for "Heroes", the guitar riff at the end even directly quotes the melody.
- Silly Love Songs: About half of their songs could be classified as this, usually with a strong undercurrent of melancholy or sadness for a bittersweet effect. They do have a few more straight examples though, such as "Dance With Somebody" from the Monsters album:Take off your armor, friend of mine
I have no arrows but I got time
All your sorrow keeps you glued to your seat
Can we get you outta your head and into your feet?
And it's not that the rest of us don't have the blues
It's just that some dance partners need a dance partner too
Is that you? - Singer Namedrop: Featured in the chorus of "Los Angeles"Helicopters against the moonlight
Our holy mother of the midnight
And if we live forever, let us live forever tonight - Synthwave: They mainly belong to the "romancewave" subgenre.
- You Are Not Alone: One really fantastic example of this is "Heartbeat" off of their Heroes album.If the world is made out of love
Then the pain is proof that it isn't done
When you're empty you can use me up
You won't run out, there is love enough
