Endless Summer

This article is about the album. For the song, see Endless Summer (song).

Endless Summer
Album by The Midnight
Released	August 5, 2016
Genre	Synthwave
Length	61:03
Label	The Midnight Music
Producer	Tim McEwan
The Midnight chronology
Days of Thunder (2014) Endless Summer (2016) The Midnight Remixed (2017)
Singles from Endless Summer
"Sunset" Released: May 13, 2016 "Vampires" Released: June 10, 2016

Endless Summer (5 Year Anniversary Edition)
Album by The Midnight
Released	June 24, 2021
Genre	Synthwave
Length	71:13
Label	The Midnight Music
Producer	Tim McEwan
The Midnight chronology
Horror Show (2020) Endless Summer (5 Year Anniversary Edition) (2021) The Rearview Mirror (2021)

Endless Summer is the first album by The Midnight. It was released independently by the band on August 5, 2016. Sunset and Vampires were issued as singles prior to the album's release.

On June 24, 2021, a 5 Year Anniversary Edition of Endless Summer was released that contains two additional songs: Comet and Bend.

Background and composition

Tyler Lyle and Tim McEwan working on Endless Summer in February 2015

Endless Summer is the first full-length album from The Midnight, arriving two years after the band's debut EP Days of Thunder. The band announced on social media in January 2015 that new material was being worked on, and a clip of what would become the song Endless Summer was posted. Previews of new songs continued to be shared over the remainder of the year. In February, Tim McEwan posted a photo of himself and Tyler Lyle in the studio, and an early snippet of Vampires was shared on the same day. In March, early clips of Sunset and Daytona (then titled Daytona Beach) were shared. In May, several new clips were posted, including another one of Endless Summer, another one for Sunset, and one for Nighthawks. Also in May, a snippet of a new song presumably called She Was Dreamin' of Boys (featuring vocals by McEwan) was posted, but the song did not make the final album. A small snip of the album artwork (done by Taylor Allen) was revealed in July, and at that time the release was referred to as an EP. It was announced in August that the release of the EP/album was still several months away, with McEwan citing a desire to "push the envelope on the synthwave genre." In September, now removed teasers of the album were uploaded to Soundcloud and Youtube. In October, a small clip of an unknown song that did not make the album was shared. In November, a clip of The Equaliser (Not Alone) was posted and the song was slated to be released in December, but it was not actually released until March 2016, when it was featured on the Drive Radio compilation Selection Volume 1.

Tracklist reveal image

Throughout the first half of 2016, more information about the forthcoming album continued to be shared by the band. A snippet of Crockett's Revenge was posted on social media in March, and it was announced that Thomas Edinger, who played saxophone on Days of Thunder, would be playing saxophone on three songs on the new album. Tim McEwan also said around this time that he expected the album/EP to have around eight to ten tracks, with a few instrumentals and one or two songs with him on vocals. An early clip of Memories was shared in April, and McEwan stated in a Facebook comment that writing for the album was complete and the production of tracks was in progress. He additionally mentioned in a separate post that the album would have a more "noir" feel compared to Days of Thunder. At the beginning of May, Sunset was announced as the first official single from Endless Summer. The single was officially released on May 13. Later that month, McEwan said that the album was likely to be released in June, noting that the production of Sunset took longer than expected and stated further that more singles would be released in the meantime. In early June, a second single Vampires was announced and was officially released on June 10. More clips continued to be shared after the release of the two singles. A longer clip of Crockett's Revenge was shared in June, and in July a snippet of The Comeback Kid was posted. On July 25, the album was officially announced and given a release date of August 5. The album artwork was also revealed. On August 1, the tracklist was revealed. Endless Summer officially released on August 5, receiving positive reviews from critics.

Poster for 1966 surf documentary The Endless Summer, the inspiration for the album name

In 2017, electronic music label Silk Music issued two singles from Endless Summer containing remixes: Sunset, which was released on August 7, and Synthetic, which released on December 18. These singles lead to the eventual release of the band's first remix album, The Midnight Remixed.

Endless Summer contains the song Synthetic, which until the 2021 5 Year Anniversary Edition reissue was the only released The Midnight song with vocals written and sung by band member Tim McEwan. The album also features the band's first collaboration with Los Angeles based singer-songwriter Nikki Flores on the track Jason. The band would later collaborate with Flores again on the songs Light Years and Because The Night, and she has also toured with the band several times. McEwan said that the album's title was derived from a 1966 surf documentary film he watched titled The Endless Summer, stating that it gave him "this yearning for summer never to end." He suggested this name to Tyler Lyle and encouraged him to use it as a basis for lyrics for a track idea he had, which resulted in the song Endless Summer and the album being given the title as well.

On June 24, 2021, a 5 Year Anniversary Edition reissue of Endless Summer was released, containing two additional songs: Comet and Bend. Bend was originally released as a bonus track for pre-ordering the first pressing of the Endless Summer vinyl release. Comet is a song that was teased on the band's Facebook page back in 2016 but had been otherwise unreleased. It is the second song to release by The Midnight with vocals from Tim McEwan, following Synthetic.

Official description

The image of the perfect place - sun soaked and shining - the colors forever suspended in full bloom. This perfect place may not exist, but the longing for it does. In Brazil the word saudade means meta-nostalgia. Longing for a longing. The Endless Summer is the promise that it can stay this good forever. Maybe if we hold on tight enough the autumn won't come, love won't wither, we won't fade away. This album was written in Los Angeles and New York City with inspiration from Coney Island and Venice Beach and the Nighthawks in The East Village and the runaways headed for Hollywood and the Vampires haunting Midtown Manhattan. We see with fogged lenses. We remember through dirty glass, but we feel that impression of the sunset like an anchor on our heart - the colors over the Pacific as sharp as ever - even if we've never been to the ocean. Life has to change and continue on to the next season. Music can linger a bit.

Singles

Sunset
May 13, 2016

Vampires
June 10, 2016

Early song clips

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Endless Summer
(January 16, 2015)

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Vampires
(February 18, 2015)

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Sunset
(March 3, 2015)

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Daytona
(March 10, 2015)

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Endless Summer
(May 20, 2015)

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Nighthawks
(May 22, 2015)

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She Was Dreamin' of Boys
(May 22, 2015)

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Sunset
(May 27, 2015)

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Unknown song
(October 31, 2015)

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The Equalizer
(November 16, 2015)

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Crockett's Revenge
(March 10, 2016)

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Memories
(April 14, 2016)

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Sunset
(May 9, 2016)

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Vampires
(June 1, 2016)

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Crockett's Revenge
(June 18, 2016)

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The Comeback Kid
(July 20, 2016)

Track listing

All tracks are written by Tim McEwan and Tyler Lyle except where noted.

Endless Summer

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Endless Summer"	6:45
2.	"Sunset"	5:26
3.	"Daytona"	4:52
4.	"Jason (feat. Nikki Flores)" (McEwan, Lyle, Nikki Flores)	5:31
5.	"Synthetic"	3:19
6.	"The Equaliser (Not Alone)"	3:49
7.	"The Comeback Kid"	5:21
8.	"Vampires"	5:17
9.	"Crockett's Revenge"	5:22
10.	"Nighthawks" (McEwan, Lyle, Oliver McEwan)	3:48
11.	"Lonely City"	5:14
12.	"Memories"	6:19
Total length:		61:03

5 Year Anniversary Edition

No.	Title	Length
13.	"Comet"	5:17
14.	"Bend"	4:53
Total length:		71:13

Credits
Additional instrumentation was provided by Thomas Edinger (saxophone), Johannes Jørgensen (guitar on Sunset), Mads Storm (synth solo on Daytona), and Nikki Flores (vocals on Jason). All tracks mixed by Tim McEwan. All tracks mastered by Anders Schumann at Studio C4 in Copenhagen except for Bend and Comet which were mastered by Tim McEwan.

Release history and variants

Digital release history for Endless Summer

Date	Edition
August 5, 2016	Standard
-
August 13, 2016	Instrumentals
Only The Midnight instrumentals release to have unique artwork. Only includes songs that had vocals on the original release, except for Lonely City. Released just eight days after the vocal version, the shortest period of time between vocal and instrumental releases until Horror Show, whose vocal and instrumental versions were both available on release day by preordering a physical copy of the EP.
May 7, 2021	Stems
Contains the 12 songs from the album denoted with BPMs plus 148 stem parts comprising all songs. The stems are not royalty free but projects and remixes made with them are allowed to be used on non-monetized platforms.
June 24, 2021	5 Year Anniversary Edition
Released to commemorate the five-year anniversary of Endless Summer. Tracklist includes all 12 songs from the original release plus two new bonus tracks, Comet and Bend.

Physical release history for Endless Summer

Year	Format	Color/Design
2017	LP	Black
First pressing on vinyl. Endless Summer was the first release by The Midnight to get pressed on vinyl and the first to have a physical release in any format. Announced shortly after the digital release of the album, the project was funded through Qrates and was marketed as Endless Summer (Vocal Edition); none of the instrumental tracks were included in order to fit the record on one vinyl. 619 copies were funded, surpassing the target goal of 500. Records were shipped in May 2017. People who preordered the record received a download code for Bend, a song that was not made available again until the 2021 5 Year Anniversary Edtion reissue. Only The Midnight vinyl release to be pressed in the standard black color.
2018	Cassette	White
First tape variant. Was first offered for sale at the Spring 2018 shows with the remaining stock being sold online.
2018	Cassette	Neon Pink
Second tape variant.
2018	LP	Clear
Second vinyl variant and first variant to include the entire album. The album was remastered for this release. Preorders began in June 2018 and were shipped in September.
2021	CD	-
Contains the 5 Year Anniversary Edition of the album.
2021	LP	Pink/Blue Swirl
Third vinyl variant.
2024	LP	Pink/Purple Swirl
Fourth vinyl variant.

References

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