BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 CALSCALE:GREGORIAN PRODID:adamgibbons/ics METHOD:PUBLISH X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VEVENT UID:1991@mkeshows.com SUMMARY:The Midnight\, Jessie Frye DTSTAMP:20260820T205244Z DTSTART:20261015T010000Z DESCRIPTION:Don’t say The Midnight didn’t warn you. After teasing fans on s ocial media with\nominous imagery\, snippets of lush keyboard washes\, and cryptic references to\nclassic science fiction stories\, the band that em erged over a decade ago out of\nLos Angeles returns with Syndicate\, their fifth studio album (not even counting\nthe three EPs released between) an d their most ambitious and outward-looking\nwork yet. Syndicate evolves Th e Midnight’s simultaneously retro and\nforward-looking sound while cementi ng the band’s status as perhaps the most\nmusically and lyrically ambitiou s act to come out of the burgeoning synthwave\nscene.\n\nWith four singles already released from the 17-track album (“Shadowverse\,”\n“Digital Dream s\,” “Chariot\,” and “Love is an Ocean\,”) the listener can already\nget a sense of the wider canvas the band is painting with. “This is our ‘making \npeace with the apocalypse’ record\,” says singer and lyricist Tyler Lyle .\n\nAnd while Syndicate’s lyrics embrace the unsettled\, sometimes parano id side of\nthe 1980s (few reminisces of the period focus on how preoccupi ed by nuclear war\nthe eighties were) Lyle’s creative partner Tim McEwan b rings undertones of\nanxiety and even doom to the lush synth washes and ho oky yet unexpected chord\nprogressions that fans of The Midnight have come to know and love.\n\nThe band was born in spring 2012 from the fortuitous meeting of two very\ndifferent musical sensibilities. Atlanta-born Lyle e merged from the\nfolk-inflected Georgia music scene that grew up around th e legendary Eddie’s\nAttic live music venue. “I came to LA thinking I was gonna be the next Mumford\nand Sons\,” Lyle laughs\, recalling how he was put together with Danish songwriter\nand multi-instrumentalist Tim McEwan in what he calls “a songwriters’ blind\ndate.”\n\nThe two quickly discover ed the overlap of their creative Venn diagram lay in the\nmoody\, synthesi zer-driven sound that exploded in popularity in the wake of the\ncult thri ller Drive and especially its enormously influential retro-1980s\ninspired soundtrack. But the new musical direction required a lot of adjustment\nf rom both men. “Up until then I’d been moving in more traditional pop circl es\,”\nrecalls McEwan\, “and I really had to unlearn those tendencies.”\n\ nFor McEwan\, this meant embracing his inner maximalist\, using the maxim “If it\nfeels like it’s over the top…add more!”\n\nAnd for Lyle\, it meant moving away from narrative-driven lyrics and toward songs\nthat relied mo re on imagery and pure mood. “I decided at some point that I’m not\ngonna tell a story\,” says Lyle\, “Instead\, I’m gonna describe what the scenery \nis.”\n\nThe result is a listening experience that evokes in the listener Proustian sense\nmemories of first loves and afternoons on the couch play ing 8-bit video games\nwhile simultaneously feeling downright cinematic. I n a genre sometimes derided\nfor trafficking in easy nostalgia\, The Midni ght eschews putting air quotes\naround the DX7 solo of a 1980s radio hit i n favor of washing over listeners and\nmaking them feel like they’re stand ing on a rainy street under neon inside a\nMichael Mann or a Tony Scott mo vie.\n\n“I got into (mythologist and Hero With a Thousand Faces author) Jo seph Campbell\nand (Swiss psychotherapist and author) Carl Jung in a big w ay and realized at\nsome point that instead of just being a synth pop band we were building an\nentire world with all of these archetypes\,” says Ly le. “We realized we were\nplaying with the imagery of the ‘80s\, but in th e same way Springsteen did with\nmidcentury America and factory work and s uch. That’s when it really became fun.”\n\nAlso notable in a scene more kn own for studio experimentation\, The Midnight\nquickly emerged as an excit ing live rock and roll band with a big and devoted\nyoung audience that gr ew completely outside the major label/radio airplay\napparatus\, scoring t hree number one singles on Billboard’s electronic music\nchart\, playing m ajor festivals\, selling out massive headline tours\, and\nco-headlining a 2024 run with Chromeo. “That always trips me out\,” says McEwan.\n“When w e first started playing live\, I wondered who was gonna show up. Was it\nj ust going to be people over 35?”\n\nBut the burdens of building and sustai ning that audience outside the corporate\nmainstream took their toll. McEw an recently withdrew from touring to focus on\nsongwriting and studio work \, while Lyle dealt with a family health crisis that\nsent his muse on a v oyage into bleak and sunless lands. “I was spending a lot of\ntime in doct ors’ offices\, and thinking about the larger world and are we living\nin t he end of times?” Recalls Lyle. “But the truth is\, all eight billion of o ur\nindividual worlds will end — for each of us the apocalypse always come s.”\n\nMcEwan\, too\, found himself grappling with grief\, loss and depres sion during this\nperiod. But ironically — or appropriately\, depending on one’s perspective —\ntheir parallel journeys into darkness ended up leavi ng The Midnight creatively\nre-energized. “We really reconnected with how much fun we had at the start of\nthis journey\,” says McEwan. “This record is the most honest and earnest thing\nwe’ve ever done.”\n\nSo despite its often heady and heavy themes\, Syndicate ends up being less about\nending s and more of a journey toward an unknown destination. Lyle frames it\nsim ply:\n\n“Everything is ending\, so let’s get started now.”\n\n\n URL:https://mkeshows.com/event/the-midnight-time-machines GEO:43.0411402;-87.9104618 LOCATION:The Pabst Theater - 144 E Wells St\, Milwaukee\, WI 53202 STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:All Ages X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:

Don’t say The Midnight didn’t warn you. Aft er teasing fans on social media with ominous imagery, snippets of lush key board washes, and cryptic references to classic science fiction stories, t he band that emerged over a decade ago out of Los Angeles returns with Syn dicate, their fifth studio album (not even counting the three EPs released between) and their most ambitious and outward-looking work yet. Syndicate evolves The Midnight’s simultaneously retro and forward-looking sound whi le cementing the band’s status as perhaps the most musically and lyrically ambitious act to come out of the burgeoning synthwave scene.

With f our singles already released from the 17-track album (“Shadowverse,” “Digi tal Dreams,” “Chariot,” and “Love is an Ocean,”) the listener can already get a sense of the wider canvas the band is painting with. “This is our ‘m aking peace with the apocalypse’ record,” says singer and lyricist Tyler L yle.

And while Syndicate’s lyrics embrace the unsettled, sometimes p aranoid side of the 1980s (few reminisces of the period focus on how preoc cupied by nuclear war the eighties were) Lyle’s creative partner Tim McEwa n brings undertones of anxiety and even doom to the lush synth washes and hooky yet unexpected chord progressions that fans of The Midnight have com e to know and love.

The band was born in spring 2012 from the fortui tous meeting of two very different musical sensibilities. Atlanta-born Lyl e emerged from the folk-inflected Georgia music scene that grew up around the legendary Eddie’s Attic live music venue. “I came to LA thinking I was gonna be the next Mumford and Sons,” Lyle laughs, recalling how he was pu t together with Danish songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Tim McEwan in what he calls “a songwriters’ blind date.”

The two quickly discovere d the overlap of their creative Venn diagram lay in the moody, synthesizer -driven sound that exploded in popularity in the wake of the cult thriller Drive and especially its enormously influential retro-1980s inspired soun dtrack. But the new musical direction required a lot of adjustment from bo th men. “Up until then I’d been moving in more traditional pop circles,” r ecalls McEwan, “and I really had to unlearn those tendencies.”

For M cEwan, this meant embracing his inner maximalist, using the maxim “If it f eels like it’s over the top…add more!”

And for Lyle, it meant moving away from narrative-driven lyrics and toward songs that relied more on im agery and pure mood. “I decided at some point that I’m not gonna tell a st ory,” says Lyle, “Instead, I’m gonna describe what the scenery is.”

The result is a listening experience that evokes in the listener Proustian sense memories of first loves and afternoons on the couch playing 8-bit v ideo games while simultaneously feeling downright cinematic. In a genre so metimes derided for trafficking in easy nostalgia, The Midnight eschews pu tting air quotes around the DX7 solo of a 1980s radio hit in favor of wash ing over listeners and making them feel like they’re standing on a rainy s treet under neon inside a Michael Mann or a Tony Scott movie.

“I got into (mythologist and Hero With a Thousand Faces author) Joseph Campbell and (Swiss psychotherapist and author) Carl Jung in a big way and realized at some point that instead of just being a synth pop band we were buildin g an entire world with all of these archetypes,” says Lyle. “We realized w e were playing with the imagery of the ‘80s, but in the same way Springste en did with midcentury America and factory work and such. That’s when it r eally became fun.”

Also notable in a scene more known for studio exp erimentation, The Midnight quickly emerged as an exciting live rock and ro ll band with a big and devoted young audience that grew completely outside the major label/radio airplay apparatus, scoring three number one singles on Billboard’s electronic music chart, playing major festivals, selling o ut massive headline tours, and co-headlining a 2024 run with Chromeo. “Tha t always trips me out,” says McEwan. “When we first started playing live, I wondered who was gonna show up. Was it just going to be people over 35?”

But the burdens of building and sustaining that audience outside th e corporate mainstream took their toll. McEwan recently withdrew from tour ing to focus on songwriting and studio work, while Lyle dealt with a famil y health crisis that sent his muse on a voyage into bleak and sunless land s. “I was spending a lot of time in doctors’ offices, and thinking about t he larger world and are we living in the end of times?” Recalls Lyle. “But the truth is, all eight billion of our individual worlds will end — for e ach of us the apocalypse always comes.”

McEwan, too, found himself g rappling with grief, loss and depression during this period. But ironicall y — or appropriately, depending on one’s perspective — their parallel jour neys into darkness ended up leaving The Midnight creatively re-energized. “We really reconnected with how much fun we had at the start of this journ ey,” says McEwan. “This record is the most honest and earnest thing we’ve ever done.”

So despite its often heady and heavy themes, Syndicate e nds up being less about endings and more of a journey toward an unknown de stination. Lyle frames it simply:

“Everything is ending, so let’s ge t started now.”


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