Audio Autopsy, 2022: The Midnight & Their Classic, Melodic Love-Pop of "Heartbeat"
EKG elevated with this "Heartbeat"! They're evocative all right, but of several styles, eras, and genres. On their roulette wheel of pop influences, where oh where will their September '22 album land?
It opens with a synthesizer riff that screams “Jump,” but mercifully, the duo smartly abandons any other fingerprints resembling 1983-era Van Halen.
Instead, “Heartbeat,” released in June on Counter Records, is a feel-good “love-is-possible” raver by a “synthwave” duo calling themselves The Midnight.
Grizzled veterans of about a decade, the Los Angeles-based twosome has been in the biz since 2012, and their classic songwriting style, at least in this song, is exemplified by a catchy melody, hopeful lyrics, an actual bridge, and yes, even a stirring modulation!
All that’s missing is precocious little Tracy on tambourine!
If this were 5 decades earlier, these cats may have been Boyce & Hart, Lambert & Potter, or any in Wes Farrell’s stable of tight, professional tunesmiths who filled The Partridge Family jukebox with hits-a-plenty!
Turns out their decade of pop culture decadence, though, seems to land squarely in the 1980s.
They’re Tim McEwan and Tyler Lyle, and if this song is any indication of their future output, there’s hope for “the kids these days” beyond the mind-numbing rap, hip-hop, and monotonous EDM noodling I’m told oozes out of what’s left of automated terrestrial hit radio and a handful of satellite stations these days.
Just What We Need: Another Sub-Genre! A Microgenre, Anyone?!
The Midnight actually hang a shingle over the “Synthwave” door, so there apparently is such a thing. And, believe it or don’t, the Synthwave genre is also referred to as “Outrun,” and “Vaporwave.”
These are all described by those claiming to know, as “electronic music microgenres.” I’m still trying to figure out if I care why or not.
It’s also said the duo harkens back to ‘80s-era Brit pop, a genre flown over recently with the FR&B “Audio Autopsy” on Electronic, and their earworm classic, “Getting Away With It,” accessible here:
Speaking of the ‘80s, The Midnight neon logo was actually inspired by the 1988 Tom Cruise blockbuster film, Cocktail, and they’ve even been known to tackle a concert cover of “Don’t Stand So Close to Me,” the 1980 Grammy-winning hit by The Police!
These guys really do seem anachronistic: In interviews, they almost seem apologetic and a bit uncomfortable existing in a 21st century EDM/synthwave world (see 2017 live stream video at end of article), preferring and even fully embracing so many of the influences that colored the pop culture landscape decades ago.
Refreshingly transparent and forthcoming about their musical identity, the duo’s motto is “mono no aware” (物の哀れ), a Japanese phrase that loosely translates to “a sense of nostalgic wistfulness and the awareness that nothing lasts forever.” As Vehlinggo.com posed in 2017: “Are The Midnight an embodiment of this or are they the cure?”
While we won’t answer that here, I think we have the final piece of their musical puzzle.
“I wanted to be clear and confident about what it was,” McEwan once said in an interview to put even a finer point on it: “I thought to myself, If you don’t like the ‘80s, I want you to hate The Midnight; if you’re even somewhat into the ‘80s, you’re going to f-ing love this s***.”
“Just keep going; there’s love enough for you and me”
After the familiar-sounding synth intro, drums (I’m assuming they’re real) give us the downbeat to our Wayback Machine visit to 1971, where hit radio kept reminding us of the ingredients to the well-crafted pop song.
Written by McEwan (who also produced and played keyboards), Lyle, Nikki Flores, and Royce Whittaker, it’s mid-tempo, but eminently danceable in B major.
Lyricist and singer Lyle speaks from experience, and thankfully, the message isn’t gloom and misery, a common (and stereotypical) element in 21st century pop music.
As Lyle explained in a recent interview: “The last two years have been so hard for so many people. ‘Heartbeat’ is a reminder that love and empathy is not a finite resource. There is love enough.”
These guys have no problem letting you believe they’re actually optimistic, after all is said and (however heartbreakingly) done:
1. “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.
Everybody wants to walk away sometimes,
Some believe they can fly;
Either way, coming down is still a hell of a ride.”
Then, the chorus: A stacked, descending, and unison “Oh!” (with the song’s only hint of a subtle harmony occurring in the fade-out chorus) sounds about as exultant as any late ‘60s sunshine pop hand-clapper.
Over this, Lyle offers this comforting, even ironic, reassurance:
Chorus: “If you can feel your heartbeat,
You're not done yet, you can't be;
If it hurts, it's working,
There is love enough
For you and me.”
I wasn’t aware 21st century synth-whatever bands were allowed to be anything this close to hopeful! These lyrics alone deserve elevation; but, placing them into this delicious slice of sound celebration is rare, and an impressive achievement in modern song-craft. Thankfully, we’re not done:
Throughout the song, the uniform, stacked-vocal chorus shouts an exhilarating “Hey!” that helps propel the song, both like a cymbal crash and a communion of souls pushing us along to the similarly-questioning second verse; our hero’s figuring it out, and we get to benefit in our love journey:
2. “If the world is made out of love,
Then a heart can changе in anyone;
I was nearly dead whеn you shared your cup,
You're the proof to me there's love enough.
Everybody wants to walk away sometimes,
Fools believe they can fly;
Either way, coming down is still a hell of a ride.”
Chorus: “If you can feel your heartbeat,
You're not done yet, you can't be;
If it hurts, it's working,
There is love enough
For you and me.
If you can feel your heartbeat,
You're not done yet, you can't be;
Just keep going
There is love enough
For you and me.”
BRIDGE:
“If the world is made out of us,
All our shadows suggest the sun;
Every desert heart that wants the flood,
Come and bring your need,
There is love enough.
Keep going 'cause we can't go back, no
Keep going 'cause we can't go back
Keep going 'cause we can't go back, no
We can't go back, no
We can't go back, no.”
A drum riff couplet, then the modulation that seems to be a reassuring pat on the back, if not a warm embrace, in case we’re still not convinced we can do it:
“If you can feel your heartbeat,
You're not done yet, you can't be;
If it hurts, it's working,
There is love enough
For you and me.
If you can feel your heartbeat,
You're not done yet, you can't be;
Just keep going,
There's love enough
For you and me.”
Songwriters: Tim McEwan / Tyler Lyle / Nikki Flores / Royce Whittaker
The Midnight features the Atlanta-area born singer/songwriter Tyler Lyle, and Los Angeles-based, Danish-born producer, singer/songwriter, Tim McEwan. They came together as a result of a 2012 meeting at a co-writing workshop in North Hollywood [where this reporter lived from 1980-1983].
Inspired in part by the score for the 2011 Ryan Gosling-starring action film, Drive, and the retro-synth genre growing around its release, a long-term songwriting collab began.
“Heartbeat” joins “Change Your Heart or Die” as lead singles from the new album from The Midnight, Heroes, set for September 9th release on Counter Records.
FindYourSounds.com calls “Heartbeat” “a rousing and electrifying track that helps set the tone for the album, which was written during [2020-21 pandemic] isolation” by McEwan and Lyle.
“Heroes represents a clear sonic shift for the duo,” the website continues, “who have expanded their lineup to include three live musicians: Lelia Broussard on bass, Royce Whittaker [a co-writer on “Heartbeat”] on guitar, and Justin Klunk on sax and synth, with both Broussard and Whittaker working alongside them on the new LP, which was produced by McEwan and mixed by Ingmar Carlson (Tate McCrae, Disclosure, Carly Rae Jepsen).
“The band just toured across the UK and Ireland, selling out shows in Dublin, Glasgow, and London’s Brixton Academy. It marked their third ever London show, previously selling out the Roundhouse [a legendary venue played by The Ramones in an historic July 1976 date, helping to spawn the UK punk wave, about which more can be read by clicking here], with The Express insisting that they are ‘without question, one of the next iconic rock acts of the generation,’ in their glowing review.”
FindYourSounds continues: “Heroes is also the final in a trilogy of albums that started with 2018’s Kids, which reached #1 on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Chart, and was followed in 2020 with Monsters.
“For me, Kids is self-knowledge, Monsters is self-love, and then Heroes is empathy,” said Lyle. “I got into depth psychology and this idea of etiology, the way a human forms. The world doesn’t get better, but we do. We grow into ourselves. We grow into our voice.”
To reserve and order The Midnight’s new album Heroes, available September 9, click here for options.
I was first alerted to “Heartbeat” by Gilby VM, who featured it in one of his recent Spotify playlists. I heartily recommend reading and subscribing to Gilby’s Pop Culture Roundup for consistently thoughtful updates about “great films, TV shows, and music every Friday”:
For Gilby’s particular recent Spotify ten-song playlist, go here:
Gilby was responding to a post by On Repeat scribe, Kevin Alexander, who was asking the musical question, “What’re you listening to right now?” For playlists, fun and intelligent music analysis and commentary, join me in subscribing to Kevin’s newsletter:
Thanks for the shoutout! I appreciate the signal boost. As you know, I'm a big fan of these deep dives, and this one was great.
This was a great deep dive! And I appreciate the shoutout 🙌