The Midnight have been spreading their message of goodwill via synth laced nostalgia for a few years now. Their influence really began to accelerate with the output of Stranger Things and S U R V I V E bringing synthwave to the mainstream. It was about this time that I began to catch up with what the duo was up to. Kids made my list of top albums in 2018.

I mean, what’s not to like about a band like The Midnight and the Outrun aesthetic? It’s nostalgic and futuristic. It’s upbeat. It gives you the feels. It’s slick. It’s colorful. It’s cool. If Kids functioned as The Midnight’s wide-scale introduction to the world, for practical purposes, then Monsters is the band wholeheartedly embracing the role their fans have bestowed upon them.

I’m sitting here in my office, in the glow of this ridiculous Outrun lighting wall inspired by Otherworld, and with our logo and I’m listening to Monsters sipping wine. This is heavenly. I mean look at this thing.

I can only say so many platitudes before I’ll start to bore you, so I’ll attempt to comment on the music. You have to understand this is a very unique listening experience I’ve been waiting for, for a long time.

Track order is certainly impeccable here—as the 1991 intro into “America Online” is an instrumental soundscape meant to ease us into the universe of The Midnight and the parts of our minds bathed in neon. “Dance With Somebody” and “Seventeen” are the perfect pair of songs to immediately, and I mean immediately satisfy that longing for synthy-goodness fans of the band are looking for. The band begins to take some liberties with their sound in “Dream Away,” with a tribal beat ditching a lot of the nostalgic themes and going for straight up future pop.

Truthfully—reading through the song titles of this album and knowing how people treat this band, I want to find it all cheesy, but I can’t. This album is meant to help people who grew up in the 80s and the 90s relive their heyday in a fresh way. “Prom Night” is the best example of a song that should be corny that simply isn’t.

The release of this album is particularly timely for me. This week was not a fun week for me—I have a tendency to get lost in my own head, and I had myself worked up a lot over Coronavirus this week. One reprieve has been my newfound obsession with the Netflix show Black Mirror, which normally has a very dark, and sometimes disturbing undertone. One of the best episodes is titled San Junipero and begins in the year 1987, making use of several 80s hits like The Smiths’ “Girl in a Coma,” INXS’ “Need You Tonight,” and most notably Belinda Carlisle’s “Heaven Is a Place on Earth.” I won’t give away the twist, but the feeling of wonder and melancholy mixed together that I felt that night is still fresh in my mind—I only watched it for the first time a few days ago. The culmination of my neon obsessed brain, my hunger for a sense of wonder, and my default pensive state is all colliding in one massive synthwave pop explosion tonight and I love it.

“Fire In the Sky” is what I’d imagine is coming one day in the near future. I’m a believer in Christ—this is going to sound terrible and probably corny as all get out, but I’m gonna go there because it’s my gosh darn blog; I think Heaven is going to be beyond anything we can anticipate, but I believe elements will be familiar too. This sense of wonder I yearn for I believe is foreshadowing events to come—the second coming maybe? Who says God can’t play a mean synth? I want me some neon and outrun in that new heaven and new earth. Shoot, right after I typed that the breakdown/drop in the title track Monsters kicked in, and I take that to mean that there’s some agreement somewhere from this notion.

Well, if you aren’t rolling your eyes yet—I commend you. This is probably the most extra album review I’ve written—maybe ever. But The Midnight is a band that is all about being extra, and getting away with it because everything is gleaming with a cool sheen. If you don’t get anything else from this review, get this: listening will make you write something like this. Of course, that might just be the wine talking at this point (I’m on glass 2 of some healthy pours).

I hope you’ll take part in spreading the goodwill message of synthy goodness. It’s infectious. Wanna know how I know? My office faces my neighbor’s house—a single mom with a young daughter. Last week, I noticed some familiar neon glows coming out of the side windows, in part inspired by my Tuned Up synthwave wall (I asked). What color was that light? Deep Blue, which coincidentally is the title of one of the best tracks on Monsters.

BAM!

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