A Soiree of Theatrical Style Spooky Punk Rock from Midnight Feature
An album release from Midnight Features a bit of horror-based punk rock, and what really captures the essence of this record is their energy, which gives you the vibe of a live performance.
These songs are absolutely thriving with overdrive and brimming with Sonic presence from beginning to end.
You can clearly hear loads of classic punk rock influences along with alternative and more, but the sort of spooky theme stands as the foundation on which they built. And it works because the songs have loads of character. I think that's one of the things you end up holding on to the most throughout this record.
The album is called Hex Rentals, and it certainly doesn't waste much time with its first track, "Final Girl", which serves as an amazing introduction to the record because it starts to deliver you some of the great staples the rest of the album holds.
Along with that horror theme, you have brilliant guitar work that is very driving but melodically based, along with vocals that are really alluring because they're kind of theatrical.
The drummer is absolutely killer the entire time. He doesn't just add drive or sit in the pocket; he also gives a liveliness to these songs, and some of the time, it really feels like the rest of the band pushes off of that energy.
In true punk rock fashion, it does indeed quite feel like these guys recorded the songs live on the floor, all in the same room at once. It feels alive and breathing. It's almost like everyone in the band was just feeding off of each other's energies the entire time, and that's part of why that vivaciousness comes through the way it does.
The songs are really tight, too. The performances are perfected, but they have a natural sense of excitement to them.
Crew vocals riddle the song with more closed-fisted punk chants, the guitar work feels like it comes through and layers, but also gives you some ferocious and fun riffs, and everything comes together like puzzle pieces, energy is thriving.
The record has some great surprises that also give you bits of rockabilly style punk like "Death Walks in High Heels", which is an endlessly addictive single, delivering outstanding bass guitar tone.
These are the songs where you really hear the unique vocal approach as well. He's got one of those classic late '80s, early '90s style vibratos, giving him a certain kind of swagger and letting the singing come through feeling almost animated at times.
This all adds to the fun.
By the time you get halfway through this record, it becomes less of a theme and more of an atmosphere. Now, you are engulfed and surrounded by the aesthetic of this record, and it feels awesome.
"Saturday Night Fever Dream" puts out some ferocious guitar work and a pretty hard-hitting riff, along with drums that are just absolutely slammed on the entire time, and the whole thing is also danceable.
Throughout that spooky theme, you can hear the heart on the record. You can hear these guys just having an awesome time, and that sort of spirit is completely infectious.
I would definitely suggest listening to this record all the way through, in one shot. There are some great surprises around the corners, but it's also just a big experience when you listen to the full album.
I feel like it was meant to be heard as a whole.
One of the attributes of this album that became a sort of signature is how they normally utilize two guitars on their songs. One plays a heavier sort of main riff, while the other plays different kinds of chords or arpeggiated single-note chords, and that adds layers to the songs.
It builds different kinds of melodies but also gives the song a bit of thickness, so they feel hard-hitting but full-bodied at the same time.
Although several other songs on the record really stick with you, like "Let's All Do The Frankenstein", the closing track on the record is really something that ended up sticking with me long after the whole thing was over.
The last track on the record is the title track, "Hex Rentals", and it plays out like a theatrical, old western ballad.
The guitar work is brilliant on this one, a bit more simplified, but that's what it was meant to be. Some organs are played throughout this track, and that adds a bit of a cinematic backbone. When I say that, of course, I mean that old Western aesthetic. That's the kind of cinematic it showcases, and it works perfectly.
This band really nailed what they were going for in terms of the horror-themed punk aesthetic, but also branched out into other elements of songwriting, the theatrical, the cinematic, the robust, the character-riddled, storytelling, descriptive lyrics, and just loads of fun and electric energy that all come together and latch on to you as you listen.
If you listen to this full album in one shot, it feels almost like you watched a film.
A spooky, fun punk rock horror film, yes, but a film all the same. I guess that's why they're called Midnight Features after all.
Definitely don't miss out on this because it's quite an experience, and don't be afraid to turn it up because that's how it was meant to be heard.
Dive into this one right now so you can hear exactly where I'm coming from.
