Monsters: Difference between revisions

2020 album by The Midnight
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'''Monsters''' is the fourth album from [[people/the_midnight|The Midnight]]. It was released through the label Counter Records on July 10, 2020.<ref>https://themidnight.bandcamp.com/album/monsters</ref> The instrumental version of the album was released on October 8, 2020.<ref>https://themidnight.bandcamp.com/album/monsters-the-instrumentals</ref>
{{SHORTDESC:2020 album by The Midnight}}
[[File:Monsters - album.jpg|thumb|Monsters album cover]]
{{About|the album|the song|Monsters (song)}}
''Monsters'' was preceded by the release of four singles. [[songs/america_online|america_online]] was the first single and was released on May 3, 2019.<ref>https://themidnight.bandcamp.com/track/america-online</ref> The second single, [[songs/deep_blue|deep_blue]], was released on May 6, 2020.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/B_fNNn1J2L-/</ref> The third single, [[songs/dance_with_somebody|dance_with_somebody]], was released on June 10, 2020.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/CBQsDoQn98s/</ref> The fourth and final single, [[songs/prom_night|prom_night]], was released on June 24, 2020.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/CB0wdojJqAi/</ref>
<div class="hidden-image">
[[File:Monsters - album.jpg|300px|thumb|]]
</div>
{{Infobox album
| name      = Monsters
| type      = studio
| artist    = [[The Midnight]]
| cover      = {{MusicAlbum|link=https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=2390823575/size=large/bgcol=333333/linkcol=f81674/minimal=true/transparent=true/}}
| border    =
| alt        =
| released   = July 10, 2020
| recorded  =
| studio    =
| genre      = {{hlist|Synthwave|Electronic|World|Lo-fi|Vaporwave}}
| length    = 57:56
| label      = Counter Records
| producer  = [[Tim McEwan]]
| prev_title =
| prev_year  =
| next_title =
| next_year  =
| misc      =
{{Extra chronology
| artist    = [[The Midnight]]
| type      =
| prev_title = [[File:Remixed_02_-_album.jpg|50px|link=|frameless]]<br>[[The Midnight Remixed 02]]
| prev_year  = 2019
| title      = [[File:Monsters_-_album.jpg|50px|link=|frameless]]<br>Monsters
| year      = 2020
| next_title = [[File:Horror_show_-_ep.jpg|50px|link=|frameless]]<br>[[Horror Show]]
| next_year  = 2020
}}{{Singles
| name        = Monsters
| type        = studio
| single1    = [[America Online]]
| single1date = May 3, 2019
| single2    = [[Deep Blue]]
| single2date = May 6, 2020
| single3    = [[Dance With Somebody]]
| single3date = June 10, 2020
| single4    = [[Prom Night]]
| single4date = June 24, 2020
}}
}}
 
'''Monsters''' is the fourth album by [[The Midnight]]. It was released through the label Counter Records on July 10, 2020.<ref>https://themidnight.bandcamp.com/album/monsters</ref>
 
''Monsters'' was preceded by the release of four singles: [[America Online]], [[Deep Blue]], [[Dance With Somebody]], and [[Prom Night]].


== Background and composition ==
== Background and composition ==
The Midnight's previous album [[Kids]] was originally planned to be a larger release with more songs compared to the final product. It was later stated that its production was scaled back so [[Tyler Lyle]] would have more time to spend with his newborn child.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=July 9, 2020 |title=THE MIDNIGHT: Tim McEwan And Tyler Lyle On Bringing ‘Monsters’ To Life! |url=https://www.iconvsicon.com/2020/07/09/the-midnight-tim-mcewan-and-tyler-lyle-on-bringing-monsters-to-life/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224233722/https://www.iconvsicon.com/2020/07/09/the-midnight-tim-mcewan-and-tyler-lyle-on-bringing-monsters-to-life/ |archive-date=February 24, 2021 |access-date=April 3, 2022 |website=Icon Vision}}</ref> With the band having a lot of leftover ideas from the making of ''Kids'', they decided to expand upon its themes and began work on a follow-up album as part of a planned trilogy.<ref>https://celebmix.com/exclusive-the-midnight-chat-about-new-album/</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref>https://edm.com/interviews/the-midnight-interview</ref>


The Midnight's previous album [[releases/kids|kids]] was originally planned to be a larger release with more songs compared to the final product. It was later stated that its production was scaled back so [[people/tyler_lyle|tyler_lyle]] would have more time to spend with his newborn child.<ref>https://www.iconvsicon.com/2020/07/09/the-midnight-tim-mcewan-and-tyler-lyle-on-bringing-monsters-to-life/</ref> With the band having a lot of leftover ideas from the making of ''Kids'', they decided to expand upon its themes and began work on a follow-up album as part of a planned trilogy.<ref>https://celebmix.com/exclusive-the-midnight-chat-about-new-album/</ref><ref>https://www.iconvsicon.com/2020/07/09/the-midnight-tim-mcewan-and-tyler-lyle-on-bringing-monsters-to-life/</ref><ref>https://edm.com/interviews/the-midnight-interview</ref>
Some of the prizes given during the [[Fall 2020 ARG]] have revealed details about the development of ''Monsters''. It had a working title of ''Kids 2'' and several early demos of songs that appeared on ''Monsters'' were also shared. A snippet of [[America Online]] was shared on the band's social media in April 2018, predating the release of ''Kids''.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/BhKJu2enKnN/?hl=en</ref> An early instrumental snippet of the song [[Monsters (song)|Monsters]] included in the ARG prizes is named &quot;Monsters (early instrumental demo for KIDS)&quot;, indicating that it was also initially planned to be included on ''Kids''.


Some of the prizes given during the [[lore/1991_txt_arg|Fall 2020 alternate reality game (ARG)]] have revealed details about the development of ''Monsters''. It had a working title of ''Kids 2'' and several early [[songs/demos|demos]] of songs that appeared on ''Monsters'' were also shared. A snippet of [[songs/america_online|america_online]] was shared on the band's social media in April 2018, predating the release of ''Kids''.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/BhKJu2enKnN/?hl=en</ref> An early instrumental snippet of the song [[songs/monsters|Monsters]] included in the ARG prizes is named &quot;Monsters (early instrumental demo for KIDS)&quot;, indicating that it was also initially planned to be included on ''Kids''.
In February 2019, it was mentioned on the band's social media that new songs were being recorded in [[wikipedia:Atlanta|Atlanta]] (the home of Lyle).<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/BthA52Jgqlk/</ref> On March 20, a no-captioned photo of an [[wikipedia:America Online|America Online]] startup screen was posted, the first official mention of the song since the April 2018 snippet.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/BvN9q1Fgn-Z/</ref> On March 25, a new clip of ''America Online'' containing vocals was shared.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/BvaxeXUAdMe/</ref> On April 5, a photo showing an America Online branded floppy disk with a caption of &quot;New single dropping soon&quot; was posted.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv4kcp4AmJb/</ref> A tiny portion of the single artwork was shared on April 18,<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/BwY8ZOkg0B7/</ref> followed by another small portion on April 29, with a release date of May 3 being announced.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw3Gy8wAplG/</ref> The next day, the single was officially confirmed to be ''America Online''.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw5OMM_gJTg/</ref> The full single artwork was revealed on May 2.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw94A6fJ_uF/</ref> The artwork showed a computer with an [[wikipedia:AIM (software)|AIM-esque]] chat interface, along with a desktop showing a file called &quot;Monsters.zip&quot;, which would later turn out to be the name of the album. On May 6, the band's Twitter account posted the single artwork and stated that the font used in it was the name of a track from the upcoming album.<ref>https://twitter.com/TheMidnightLA/status/1125597102208208896</ref> A June 4 post showed an old [[wikipedia:System 7|System 7]] interface with a text editor open and the font [[Helvetica]] selected, confirming the aforementioned song's name.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/ByTwgNQAe1C/</ref>


In February 2019, it was mentioned on the band's social media that new songs were being recorded in [[WP>Atlanta|Atlanta]] (the home of Lyle).<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/BthA52Jgqlk/</ref> On March 20, a no-captioned photo of an [[WP>America Online|America Online]] startup screen was posted, the first official mention of the song since the April 2018 snippet.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/BvN9q1Fgn-Z/</ref> On March 25, a new clip of ''America Online'' containing vocals was shared.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/BvaxeXUAdMe/</ref> On April 5, a photo showing an America Online branded floppy disk with a caption of &quot;New single dropping soon&quot; was posted.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv4kcp4AmJb/</ref> A tiny portion of the single artwork was shared on April 18,<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/BwY8ZOkg0B7/</ref> followed by another small portion on April 29, with a release date of May 3 being announced.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw3Gy8wAplG/</ref> The next day, the single was officially confirmed to be ''America Online''.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw5OMM_gJTg/</ref> The full single artwork was revealed on May 2.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw94A6fJ_uF/</ref> The artwork showed a computer with an [[WP>AIM (software)|AIM-esque]] chat interface, along with a desktop showing a file called &quot;Monsters.zip&quot;, which would later turn out to be the name of the album. On May 6, the band's Twitter account posted the single artwork and stated that the font used in it was the name of a track from the upcoming album.<ref>https://twitter.com/TheMidnightLA/status/1125597102208208896</ref> A June 4 post showed an old [[WP>System 7|System 7]] interface with a text editor open and the font [[songs/Helvetica|Helvetica]] selected, confirming the aforementioned song's name.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/ByTwgNQAe1C/</ref>
Further sharing of information about the next album was infrequent for the remainder of 2019, largely due to the band's [[Fall 2019 Tour|ongoing tour]]. During the tour, a few songs confirmed by the band to be on the pending album were performed, including [[Seventeen]], [[Monsters (song)|Monsters]], and [[Brooklyn]]. The band shared in October that the next album would have a song &quot;that feels like the spiritual successor to [[Lost Boy]]&quot;<ref>https://twitter.com/TheMidnightLA/status/1185424671946108929</ref>, and also stated in December that the album has &quot;taken a lot of inspiration from world music.&quot;<ref>https://twitter.com/TheMidnightLA/status/1211337621164584965</ref>


Further sharing of information about the next album was infrequent for the remainder of 2019, largely due to the band's [[tour/fall_2019|ongoing tour]]. During the tour, a few songs confirmed by the band to be on the pending album were performed, including [[songs/seventeen|seventeen]], [[songs/monsters|Monsters]], and [[songs/brooklyn|brooklyn]]. The band shared in October that the next album would have a song &quot;that feels like the spiritual successor to [[songs/lost_boy|lost_boy]]&quot;<ref>https://twitter.com/TheMidnightLA/status/1185424671946108929</ref>, and also stated in December that the album has &quot;taken a lot of inspiration from world music.&quot;<ref>https://twitter.com/TheMidnightLA/status/1211337621164584965</ref>
In January 2020, the band said that &quot;there may or may not be an homage to [[wikipedia:Ecco the Dolphin|Ecco the Dolphin]] on our upcoming album.&quot;<ref>https://twitter.com/TheMidnightLA/status/1219150931675058176</ref> It was mentioned in February that the new album would have pan flute and saxophone,<ref>https://twitter.com/TheMidnightLA/status/1233130503571529728</ref> and it was also confirmed for a 2020 release.<ref>https://twitter.com/TheMidnightLA/status/1233133817126256640</ref> On April 24, a new snippet of the next single cover was posted on social media. On April 27, the single was confirmed to be [[Deep Blue]] with a release date of May 6. A short instrumental clip of the song was included in the post. The full single artwork was revealed on May 3.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/B_ugmqlp8QY/</ref> On May 6, the release of ''Deep Blue'' was accompanied by the announcing of ''Monsters'' as the next The Midnight album, with a planned release date of July 10.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/B_2jzxcpQ22/</ref> The artwork and tracklist were also revealed.


In January 2020, the band said that &quot;there may or may not be an homage to [[WP>Ecco the Dolphin|Ecco the Dolphin]] on our upcoming album.&quot;<ref>https://twitter.com/TheMidnightLA/status/1219150931675058176</ref> It was mentioned in February that the new album would have pan flute and saxophone,<ref>https://twitter.com/TheMidnightLA/status/1233130503571529728</ref> and it was also confirmed for a 2020 release.<ref>https://twitter.com/TheMidnightLA/status/1233133817126256640</ref> On April 24, a new snippet of the next single cover was posted on social media. On April 27, the single was confirmed to be [[songs/deep_blue|deep_blue]] with a release date of May 6. A short instrumental clip of the song was included in the post. The full single artwork was revealed on May 3.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/B_ugmqlp8QY/</ref> On May 6, the release of ''Deep Blue'' was accompanied by the announcing of ''Monsters'' as the next The Midnight album, with a planned release date of July 10.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/B_2jzxcpQ22/</ref> The artwork and tracklist were also revealed.
On May 29, [[Dance With Somebody]] was announced as the third single from ''Monsters'' alongside a short snippet of the song and a release date of June 3.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/CAxgf9TA7PM/</ref> However, The Midnight announced on June 1 that the single's release would be delayed a week to June 10, with the postponement being done in solidarity with [[wikipedia:George Floyd protests|racial justice protests]] happening at the time in the US.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/CA56j6sJ-2y/</ref> [[Prom Night]] was revealed to be the album's fourth and final single on June 18, with a short snippet and a release date of June 24 being shared.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/CBlUTPTpFew/</ref>


On May 29, [[songs/dance_with_somebody|dance_with_somebody]] was announced as the third single from ''Monsters'' alongside a short snippet of the song and a release date of June 3.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/CAxgf9TA7PM/</ref> However, The Midnight announced on June 1 that the single's release would be delayed a week to June 10, with the postponement being done in solidarity with [[WP>George Floyd protests|racial justice protests]] happening at the time in the US.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/CA56j6sJ-2y/</ref> [[songs/prom_night|prom_night]] was revealed to be the album's fourth and final single on June 18, with a short snippet and a release date of June 24 being shared.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/CBlUTPTpFew/</ref>
[[File:Monsters poster.jpg|thumb|left|Monsters promotional poster]]


''Monsters'' was officially released on July 10, 2020. Receiving mostly positive reviews, critics noted that the album moved the band's sound in a different direction and expanded its horizons, breaking the traditional mold of the synthwave genre.<ref>https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/music/1307979/the-midnight-monsters-album-review-new-album-band-tyler-lyle-tim-mcewan-outrun-synthwave</ref><ref>https://vehlinggo.com/2020/07/10/midnight-monsters-review/</ref><ref>https://edm.com/music-releases/the-midnight-monsters</ref><ref>https://exclaim.ca/music/article/the_midnight_monsters_album_review</ref><ref>https://www.fuzzymag.co.uk/post/the-midnight-monsters-review</ref> The album was also the biggest commercial success to date for The Midnight, charting at number one-hundred-thirty-four on the [[WP>Billboard 200|Billboard 200]],<ref>https://www.billboard.com/music/The-Midnight/chart-history/TLP</ref> number twelve on the [[WP>Dance/Electronic Albums|Dance/Electronic Albums]] chart,<ref>https://www.billboard.com/music/The-Midnight/chart-history/ELP</ref><ref>https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/9423495/the-midnight-sofi-tukker-gorgon-city-dance-electronic-charts</ref> and number eighteen on the [[WP>Independent Albums|Independent Albums]] chart.<ref>https://www.billboard.com/music/The-Midnight/chart-history/IND</ref>
''Monsters'' was officially released on July 10, 2020. Receiving mostly positive reviews, critics noted that the album moved the band's sound in a different direction and expanded its horizons, breaking the traditional mold of the synthwave genre.<ref>https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/music/1307979/the-midnight-monsters-album-review-new-album-band-tyler-lyle-tim-mcewan-outrun-synthwave</ref><ref>https://vehlinggo.com/2020/07/10/midnight-monsters-review/</ref><ref>https://edm.com/music-releases/the-midnight-monsters</ref><ref>https://exclaim.ca/music/article/the_midnight_monsters_album_review</ref><ref>https://www.fuzzymag.co.uk/post/the-midnight-monsters-review</ref> The album was also the biggest commercial success to date for The Midnight, charting at number 134 on the [[wikipedia:Billboard 200|Billboard 200]],<ref>https://www.billboard.com/music/The-Midnight/chart-history/TLP</ref> number 12 on the [[wikipedia:Dance/Electronic Albums|Dance/Electronic Albums]] chart,<ref>https://www.billboard.com/music/The-Midnight/chart-history/ELP</ref><ref>https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/9423495/the-midnight-sofi-tukker-gorgon-city-dance-electronic-charts</ref> and number 18 on the [[wikipedia:Independent Albums|Independent Albums]] chart.<ref>https://www.billboard.com/music/The-Midnight/chart-history/IND</ref>


According to Tyler Lyle, a few that songs were written or sketched during the creation of ''Kids'' were held over for ''Monsters''.<ref>https://celebmix.com/exclusive-the-midnight-chat-about-new-album/</ref> He also noted that the production of ''Monsters'' took longer than previous releases due to the band's tour schedule.<ref>https://www.iconvsicon.com/2020/07/09/the-midnight-tim-mcewan-dan-tyler-lyle-on-bringing-monsters-to-life/</ref><ref>https://americansongwriter.com/dance-with-somebody-by-the-midnight-song-premiere/</ref><ref>https://twitter.com/tylerlyle/status/1278433049483632641</ref> ''Monsters'' was released with fifteen tracks, the largest number to date on a The Midnight release. The title track is a collaboration with [[people/jupiter_winter|jupiter_winter]], a music duo consisting of Lelia Broussard and Royce Whittaker. Broussard co-wrote the track and sings vocals on the second verse. She had previously joined the band as a guitarist and backup vocalist during the [[tour/fall_2019|fall_2019]]. Broussard and Whittaker would both join The Midnight for the concert special [[tour/the_midnight_online|the_midnight_online]]. ''Brooklyn'', the album's eleventh track, was originally a solo song by Lyle from his album ''The Floating Years''.<ref>https://tylerlyle.bandcamp.com/album/the-floating-years-2</ref>
According to Tyler Lyle, a few that songs were written or sketched during the creation of ''Kids'' were held over for ''Monsters''.<ref>https://celebmix.com/exclusive-the-midnight-chat-about-new-album/</ref> He also noted that the production of ''Monsters'' took longer than previous releases due to the band's tour schedule.<ref name=":1" /><ref>https://americansongwriter.com/dance-with-somebody-by-the-midnight-song-premiere/</ref><ref>https://twitter.com/tylerlyle/status/1278433049483632641</ref> ''Monsters'' was released with fifteen tracks, the largest number to date on a The Midnight release. The title track is a collaboration with [[Jupiter Winter]], a music duo consisting of Lelia Broussard and Royce Whittaker. Broussard co-wrote the track and sings vocals on the second verse. She had previously joined the band as a guitarist and backup vocalist during the [[Fall 2019 Tour]]. Broussard and Whittaker would both join The Midnight for the concert special [[The Midnight Online]]. ''Brooklyn'', the album's eleventh track, was originally a solo song by Lyle from his album ''The Floating Years''.<ref>https://tylerlyle.bandcamp.com/album/the-floating-years-2</ref>


A continuation of ''Kids'',<ref>https://youtu.be/X9VPeEZKxlY?t=451</ref><ref>https://americansongwriter.com/dance-with-somebody-by-the-midnight-song-premiere/</ref> the album explores the trials and tribulations of growing up as a teenager and young adult. McEwan noted that the songs on ''Monsters'' &quot;range from calm to sad to aggressive, and reflect[s] some of the internal struggles of adolescence.&quot;<ref>https://edm.com/interviews/the-midnight-interview</ref> When asked about the significance of 1991, McEwan opined: &quot;The KIDS have grown up. They're teens now. And 1991 was the year the internet went live. Hence the modem sound and opening the album with America Online.&quot;<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/electronicmusic/comments/horqzi/we_are_the_midnight_our_new_album_monsters_is_out/fxjsdxm/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3</ref> Lyle has described ''Monsters'' as &quot;an examination of the half in darkness, half in lightness war of individualization through adolescence.&quot;<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/electronicmusic/comments/horqzi/we_are_the_midnight_our_new_album_monsters_is_out/fxjs4i2/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3</ref> During an interview with ''Icon Vs. Icon'', he said about the album:<ref>https://www.iconvsicon.com/2020/07/09/the-midnight-tim-mcewan-and-tyler-lyle-on-bringing-monsters-to-life/</ref> &lt;blockquote&gt;<br />
A continuation of ''Kids'',<ref>https://youtu.be/X9VPeEZKxlY?t=451</ref><ref>https://americansongwriter.com/dance-with-somebody-by-the-midnight-song-premiere/</ref> the album explores the trials and tribulations of growing up as a teenager and young adult. McEwan noted that the songs on ''Monsters'' &quot;range from calm to sad to aggressive, and reflect[s] some of the internal struggles of adolescence.&quot;<ref>https://edm.com/interviews/the-midnight-interview</ref> When asked about the significance of 1991, McEwan opined: &quot;The KIDS have grown up. They're teens now. And 1991 was the year the internet went live. Hence the modem sound and opening the album with America Online.&quot;<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 10, 2020 |title=We are The Midnight. Our new album Monsters is out today and we just announced our 2021 Europe and U.K. headline tour. Ask us anything! : electronicmusic |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/electronicmusic/comments/horqzi/comment/fxjsdxm/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/cTE0t |archive-date=March 24, 2024 |access-date=March 24, 2024 |website=Reddit}}</ref> Lyle has described ''Monsters'' as &quot;an examination of the half in darkness, half in lightness war of individualization through adolescence.&quot;<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 10, 2020 |title=We are The Midnight. Our new album Monsters is out today and we just announced our 2021 Europe and U.K. headline tour. Ask us anything! : electronicmusic |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/electronicmusic/comments/horqzi/comment/fxjs4i2/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/lARyI |archive-date=March 24, 2024 |access-date=March 24, 2024 |website=Reddit}}</ref> During an interview with ''Icon Vs. Icon'', he said about the album:<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=July 9, 2020 |title=THE MIDNIGHT: Tim McEwan And Tyler Lyle On Bringing ‘Monsters’ To Life! |url=https://www.iconvsicon.com/2020/07/09/the-midnight-tim-mcewan-and-tyler-lyle-on-bringing-monsters-to-life/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224233722/https://www.iconvsicon.com/2020/07/09/the-midnight-tim-mcewan-and-tyler-lyle-on-bringing-monsters-to-life/ |archive-date=February 24, 2021 |access-date=April 3, 2022 |website=Icon Vision}}</ref> <blockquote>''We wanted MONSTERS to be about adolescence, where the adult world starts knocking on your door and you have to face questions about intimacy, closeness and alienation. It’s a continuation of KIDS in a lot of ways. We wrote a lot of songs for it and hopefully we have a lot of songs for the next record as well to complete the arc. This collection we really felt spoke to the theme of connection.''</blockquote>''Monsters'' has been noted for having a new and different overall sound compared to previous releases by The Midnight. [[Tim McEwan]] said a goal with ''Monsters'' was to &quot;broaden the palette a bit and sonically evolve the sound of not just us but what is allowed in synthwave and question what is synthwave&quot; and also to not be &quot;encumbered by rules of a genre.&quot;<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=July 10, 2020 |title=We are The Midnight. Our new album Monsters is out today and we just announced our 2021 Europe and U.K. headline tour. Ask us anything! : electronicmusic |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/electronicmusic/comments/horqzi/comment/fxjybht/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/T0GVB |archive-date=March 24, 2024 |access-date=March 24, 2024 |website=Reddit}}</ref> McEwan elaborated further stating &quot;I think there's a tendency with all genres to be bubbled into this chamber of one specific genre, and I felt it was important for us to move forward and to have the ability to move freely.&quot;<ref>https://headlinermagazine.net/headliners/the-midnight-future-nostalgia.html</ref> Tyler Lyle said with regards to ''Monsters'' that McEwan &quot;is evolving the sound a little bit more&quot; and that &quot;We’re opening the palette a little bit more — in some ways becoming a little bit more acoustic and in other ways becoming more dance-focused in different areas.”<ref>https://americansongwriter.com/dance-with-somebody-by-the-midnight-song-premiere/</ref> During a fan question-and-answer session on Twitter prior to the release of ''Monsters'', he mentioned that he &quot;wrote about 250 songs between 2016-2019&quot; and &quot;20 something of those songs got properly demoed/ realistically considered for Monsters.&quot;<ref>https://twitter.com/tylerlyle/status/1278430811939835910</ref>
We wanted MONSTERS to be about adolescence, where the adult world starts knocking on your door and you have to face questions about intimacy, closeness and alienation. It’s a continuation of KIDS in a lot of ways. We wrote a lot of songs for it and hopefully we have a lot of songs for the next record as well to complete the arc. This collection we really felt spoke to the theme of connection.&lt;/blockquote&gt;


''Monsters'' has been noted for having a new and different overall sound compared to previous releases by The Midnight. [[people/tim_mcewan|tim_mcewan]] said a goal with ''Monsters'' was to &quot;broaden the palette a bit and sonically evolve the sound of not just us but what is allowed in synthwave and question what is synthwave&quot; and also to not be &quot;encumbered by rules of a genre.&quot;<ref>https://www.iconvsicon.com/2020/07/09/the-midnight-tim-mcewan-and-tyler-lyle-on-bringing-monsters-to-life/</ref><ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/electronicmusic/comments/horqzi/we_are_the_midnight_our_new_album_monsters_is_out/fxjybht/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3</ref> McEwan elaborated further stating &quot;I think there's a tendency with all genres to be bubbled into this chamber of one specific genre, and I felt it was important for us to move forward and to have the ability to move freely.&quot;<ref>https://headlinermagazine.net/headliners/the-midnight-future-nostalgia.html</ref> Tyler Lyle said with regards to ''Monsters'' that McEwan &quot;is evolving the sound a little bit more&quot; and that &quot;We’re opening the palette a little bit more — in some ways becoming a little bit more acoustic and in other ways becoming more dance-focused in different areas.”<ref>https://americansongwriter.com/dance-with-somebody-by-the-midnight-song-premiere/</ref> During a fan question-and-answer session on Twitter prior to the release of ''Monsters'', he mentioned that he &quot;wrote about 250 songs between 2016-2019&quot; and &quot;20 something of those songs got properly demoed/ realistically considered for Monsters.&quot;<ref>https://twitter.com/tylerlyle/status/1278430811939835910</ref>
McEwan stated that he took inspiration from various genres including soft rock, lo-fi, hip-hop, and trance. Influences of vaporwave can also be heard on tracks like ''America Online'' and [[City Dreams (interlude)]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 10, 2020 |title=We are The Midnight. Our new album Monsters is out today and we just announced our 2021 Europe and U.K. headline tour. Ask us anything! : electronicmusic |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/electronicmusic/comments/horqzi/comment/fxjtpi3/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/kXDWU |archive-date=March 24, 2024 |access-date=March 24, 2024 |website=Reddit}}</ref> The song [[Dream Away]] is mentioned by McEwan as being a &quot;homage to the 90s wave of world influenced electronic music like [[wikipedia:Deep Forest|Deep Forest]] and [[wikipedia:Enigma (German band)|Engima]].&quot;<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 10, 2020 |title=We are The Midnight. Our new album Monsters is out today and we just announced our 2021 Europe and U.K. headline tour. Ask us anything! : electronicmusic |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/electronicmusic/comments/horqzi/comment/fxjrlnp/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/Z4EfW |archive-date=March 24, 2024 |access-date=March 24, 2024 |website=Reddit}}</ref> Lyle said that his work on ''Monsters'' was inspired by a string of [[wikipedia:Bruce Springsteen|Bruce Springsteen]] albums from the late 1970s to early 1980s, with the song ''Prom Night'' regarded as &quot;an openhearted nod to Springsteen's gift as a dark and complicated writer who could also write a full throated pop song without those two words seeming to contradict.&quot;<ref>https://celebmix.com/exclusive-the-midnight-chat-about-new-album/</ref> Lyle's vocals are supplemented with vocoder effects on the songs ''Monsters'', [[Fire In The Sky]], ''America Online'', ''Deep Blue'', and [[Night Skies]], with the effect heard on ''Fire In The Sky'' actually being McEwan's voice.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 10, 2020 |title=We are The Midnight. Our new album Monsters is out today and we just announced our 2021 Europe and U.K. headline tour. Ask us anything! : electronicmusic |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/electronicmusic/comments/horqzi/comment/fxjv7ju/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.ph/7c134 |archive-date=March 24, 2024 |access-date=March 24, 2024 |website=Reddit}}</ref>


McEwan stated that he took inspiration from various genres including soft rock, lo-fi hip-hop, and trance. Influences of vaporwave can also be heard on tracks like ''America Online'' and [[songs/city_dreams_interlude|city_dreams_interlude]].<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/electronicmusic/comments/horqzi/we_are_the_midnight_our_new_album_monsters_is_out/fxjtpi3/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3</ref> The song [[songs/dream_away|dream_away]] is mentioned by McEwan as being a &quot;homage to the 90s wave of world influenced electronic music like [[WP>Deep Forest|Deep Forest]] and [[WP>Enigma (German band)|Engima]].&quot;<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/electronicmusic/comments/horqzi/we_are_the_midnight_our_new_album_monsters_is_out/fxjrlnp/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3</ref> Lyle said that his work on ''Monsters'' was inspired by a string of [[WP>Bruce Springsteen|Bruce Springsteen]] albums from the late 1970s to early 1980s, with the song ''Prom Night'' regarded as &quot;an openhearted nod to Springsteen's gift as a dark and complicated writer who could also write a full throated pop song without those two words seeming to contradict.&quot;<ref>https://celebmix.com/exclusive-the-midnight-chat-about-new-album/</ref> Lyle's vocals are supplemented with vocoder effects on the songs ''Monsters'', [[songs/fire_in_the_sky|fire_in_the_sky]], ''America Online'', ''Deep Blue'', and [[songs/night_skies|night_skies]], with the effect heard on ''Fire In The Sky'' actually being McEwan's voice.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/electronicmusic/comments/horqzi/we_are_the_midnight_our_new_album_monsters_is_out/fxjv7ju/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3</ref>
== Singles ==
<div class="media-group extra-grid-spacing">
[[File:America online - single.jpg|thumb|300x300px|[[America Online]]<br>May 13, 2019]]
[[File:Deep blue - single.jpg|thumb|300x300px|[[Deep Blue]]<br>May 6, 2020]]
[[File:Dance with somebody - single.jpg|thumb|300x300px|[[Dance With Somebody]]<br>June 10, 2020]]
[[File:Prom night - single.jpg|thumb|300x300px|[[Prom Night]]<br>June 24, 2020]]
</div>


The instrumental version of ''Monsters'' was released on October 8, 2020.<ref>https://themidnight.bandcamp.com/album/monsters-the-instrumentals</ref> Unlike previous instrumental releases, the ''Monsters'' instrumentals include songs that were already instrumental on the original album.
== Track listing ==
{{Track listing
| all_writing = [[Tim McEwan]] and [[Tyler Lyle]] except where noted
| all_producing = Tim McEwan
| headline = Monsters
| title1 = [[1991 (intro)]]
| length1 = 0:27
| title2 = [[America Online]]
| length2 = 5:49
| title3 = [[Dance With Somebody]]
| length3 = 4:17
| title4 = [[Seventeen]]
| length4 = 4:02
| title5 = [[Dream Away]]
| length5 = 3:39
| title6 = [[The Search for Ecco]]
| length6 = 4:04
| title7 = [[Prom Night]]
| length7 = 5:02
| title8 = [[Fire In The Sky]]
| note8 = Lyle, McEwan and Collin McLoughlin
| length8 = 4:09
| title9 = [[Monsters (song)|Monsters (feat. Jupiter Winter)]]
| note9 = Lyle, McEwan and [[Jupiter Winter|Leila Broussard]]
| length9 = 3:17
| title10 = [[Helvetica]]
| length10 = 5:16
| title11 = [[Brooklyn]]
| length11 = 4:14
| title12 = [[Deep Blue]]
| length12 = 3:57
| title13 = [[Night Skies]]
| length13 = 3:04
| title14 = [[City Dreams (interlude)]]
| length14 = 2:17
| title15 = [[Last Train]]
| length15 = 4:22
| total_length = 57:56
}}


</span>
Additional instrumentation was provided by [[Thomas Edinger]] (saxophone on [[Dance With Somebody]]), [[Oliver McEwan]] (synth bass on [[Dance With Somebody]], Bass & fretless bass on [[Brooklyn]]), Daniel Heløy Davidsen (Lead guitar solo on [[Seventeen]]), Izzy Fontaine (additional guitar and guitar solo on [[Brooklyn]], guitar on [[Prom Night]] & [[Last Train]]), and [[Jesse Molloy]] (saxophone on [[Deep Blue]]). The album was mixed by Tim McEwan and mastered by Emily Lazar and Chris Allgood at The Lodge in New York, NY. Songs were recorded in Los Angeles, CA, Atlanta, GA, and the back of a tour bus all over the world.
== Track listing ==


Artwork and layout by Aaron Campbell.


== Release history and variants ==
<div class="curved-table">
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Digital release history for ''Monsters''
! scope="col" style=" width: 10em;" | Date
! scope="col" style="; width: 10em;" |Edition
|-
|July 10, 2020
|Standard
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align:left;" |<div class="tour-listing"><div class="item1">[[File:Monsters - album.jpg|center|frameless|124x124px]]</div><div class="item2">-</div></div>
|-
|October 8, 2020<ref>https://themidnight.bandcamp.com/album/monsters-the-instrumentals</ref>
|Instrumentals
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align:left;" |<div class="tour-listing"><div class="item1">[[File:Monsters - album.jpg|center|frameless|124x124px]]</div><div class="item2">Unlike previous instrumental releases, songs that were already instrumental on the original album are included as well.<ref name=":2">https://themidnight.bandcamp.com/album/monsters-the-instrumentals</ref></div></div>
|-
|April 2, 2021
|Stems
|-
| colspan="2" style="text-align:left; border-bottom-left-radius:8px; border-bottom-right-radius:8px" |<div class="tour-listing"><div class="item1">[[File:Monsters - album.jpg|center|frameless|124x124px]]</div><div class="item2">Contains the 15 songs from the album denoted with BPMs plus 278 stem parts comprising all songs except for ''1991 (intro)'' and ''Helvetica''. The stems are not royalty free but projects and remixes made with them are allowed to be used on non-monetized platforms. First The Midnight EP/album to get a full stems release, which was done for [[The Midnight Remix Radio Vol. 2]] remix contest.</div></div>
|}
</div>
<div class="curved-table">
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders no-img-mod" style="text-align:center;"
|+ Physical release history for ''Monsters''
! scope="col" style=" width: 10em;" | Year
! scope="col" style="width: 10em;" | Format
! scope="col" style="; width: 10em;" |Color/Design
|-
|2020
|Cassette
|Translucent Purple
|-
| colspan="3" style="text-align:left;" |<div class="tour-listing"><div class="item1">[[File:TM Web Music Monsters Casette.webp|center|frameless|150x150px]]</div><div class="item2">First tape variant.</div></div>
|-
|2020
|CD
| -
|-
| colspan="3" style="text-align:left;" |<div class="tour-listing"><div class="item1">[[File:TM Web Music Monsters CD.webp|center|frameless|150x150px]]</div><div class="item2">-</div></div>
|-
|2020
|LP
|Purple Swirl
|-
| colspan="3" style="text-align:left;"|<div class="tour-listing"><div class="item1">[[File:TM Web Music Monsters LP Main.webp|center|frameless|150x150px]]</div><div class="item2">First vinyl variant. First pressing was plagued with issues, with some listeners experiencing warbly playback, skipping, and various other problems, which misaligned holes on the vinyl might have caused.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Midnight – Monsters (2020, Purple w/ Pink Marbled Swirl , Vinyl) - Discogs |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/15600007-The-Midnight-Monsters |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230726184006/https://www.discogs.com/release/15600007-The-Midnight-Monsters |archive-date=July 26, 2023 |access-date=July 26, 2023 |website=Discogs}}</ref> Those who ordered the first pressing were sent an email offering a no-cost replacement. This variant received another pressing in August 2024 in the US. 
</div></div>
|-
|2021
|Cassette
|Transparent Purple/Transparent Orange
|-
| colspan="3" style="text-align:left;"|<div class="tour-listing"><div class="item1">[[File:COUNTCAS198X-1mup.webp|center|frameless|150x150px]]</div><div class="item2">Second tape variant. First double cassette release of a The Midnight EP/album, with the second tape containing the instrumentals.
</div></div>
|-
|2021
|LP
| Purple Splatter
|-
| colspan="3" style="text-align:left; border-bottom-left-radius:8px; border-bottom-right-radius:8px" |<div class="tour-listing"><div class="item1">[[File:COUNT198-Purple-Front-Mockup-EDIT1-SQ.webp|center|frameless|150x150px]]</div><div class="item2">Second vinyl variant. This variant received another pressing in August 2024 in the UK.
</div></div>
|}
</div>


== References ==
== References ==
<references />{| ! style=&quot;text-align:left; border:none; background-color:#F8147230&quot;| # ! style=&quot;border:none; background-color:#F8147230&quot;| TITLE ! style=&quot;border:none; background-color:#F8147230&quot;| LENGTH |- |style=&quot;border:none;&quot;|1. |style=&quot;border:none;&quot;|[[songs/1991_intro|1991 (intro)]] |style=&quot;text-align:right; border:none;&quot;|0:27 |- |style=&quot;border:none;&quot;|2. |style=&quot;border:none;&quot;|[[songs/america_online|America Online]] |style=&quot;text-align:right; border:none;&quot;|5:49 |- |style=&quot;border:none;&quot;|3. |style=&quot;border:none;&quot;|[[songs/dance_with_somebody|Dance With Somebody]] |style=&quot;text-align:right; border:none;&quot;|4:17 |- |style=&quot;border:none;&quot;|4. |style=&quot;border:none;&quot;|[[songs/seventeen|Seventeen]] |style=&quot;text-align:right; border:none;&quot;|4:02 |- |style=&quot;border:none;&quot;|5. |style=&quot;border:none;&quot;|[[songs/dream_away|Dream Away]] |style=&quot;text-align:right; border:none;&quot;|3:39 |- |style=&quot;border:none;&quot;|6. |style=&quot;border:none;&quot;|[[songs/the_search_for_ecco|The Search for Ecco]] |style=&quot;text-align:right; border:none;&quot;|4:04 |- |style=&quot;border:none;&quot;|7. |style=&quot;border:none;&quot;|[[songs/prom_night|Prom Night]] |style=&quot;text-align:right; border:none;&quot;|5:02 |- |style=&quot;border:none;&quot;|8. |style=&quot;border:none;&quot;|[[songs/fire_in_the_sky|Fire In The Sky]] |style=&quot;text-align:right; border:none;&quot;|4:09 |- |style=&quot;border:none;&quot;|9. |style=&quot;border:none;&quot;|[[songs/monsters|Monsters (feat. Jupiter Winter)]] |style=&quot;text-align:right; border:none;&quot;|3:17 |- |style=&quot;border:none;&quot;|10. |style=&quot;border:none;&quot;|[[songs/helvetica|Helvetica]] |style=&quot;text-align:right; border:none;&quot;|5:16 |- |style=&quot;border:none;&quot;|11. |style=&quot;border:none;&quot;|[[songs/brooklyn|Brooklyn]] |style=&quot;text-align:right; border:none;&quot;|4:14 |- |style=&quot;border:none;&quot;|12. |style=&quot;border:none;&quot;|[[songs/deep_blue|Deep Blue]] |style=&quot;text-align:right; border:none;&quot;|3:57 |- |style=&quot;border:none;&quot;|13. |style=&quot;border:none;&quot;|[[songs/night_skies|Night Skies]] |style=&quot;text-align:right; border:none;&quot;|3:04 |- |style=&quot;border:none;&quot;|14. |style=&quot;border:none;&quot;|[[songs/city_dreams_interlude|City Dreams (interlude)]] |style=&quot;text-align:right; border:none;&quot;|2:17 |- |style=&quot;border:none;&quot;|15. |style=&quot;border:none;&quot;|[[songs/last_train|Last Train]] |style=&quot;text-align:right; border:none;&quot;|4:22 |- ! style=&quot;border:none; background-color:#F8147230&quot;| |style=&quot;text-align:left; border:none; background-color:#F8147230&quot;|TOTAL LENGTH |style=&quot;text-align:right; border:none; background-color:#F8147230&quot;|57:56 |}
<references />
 
|}
[[Category:Monsters]]
[[Category:Monsters]]
[[Category:Releases]]
<noinclude>
[[Category:Releases]]‎</noinclude>{{TheMidnight}}

Latest revision as of 18:24, 24 August 2024

This article is about the album. For the song, see Monsters (song).
Monsters - album.jpg
Monsters
Album by
The Midnight
ReleasedJuly 10, 2020
Genre
  • Synthwave
  • Electronic
  • World
  • Lo-fi
  • Vaporwave
Length57:56
LabelCounter Records
ProducerTim McEwan
The Midnight chronology
Remixed 02 - album.jpg
The Midnight Remixed 02
(2019) 		Monsters - album.jpg
Monsters
(2020) 		Horror show - ep.jpg
Horror Show
(2020)
Singles from Monsters
  1. "America Online"
    Released: May 3, 2019
  2. "Deep Blue"
    Released: May 6, 2020
  3. "Dance With Somebody"
    Released: June 10, 2020
  4. "Prom Night"
    Released: June 24, 2020

Monsters is the fourth album by The Midnight. It was released through the label Counter Records on July 10, 2020.[1]

Monsters was preceded by the release of four singles: America Online, Deep Blue, Dance With Somebody, and Prom Night.

Background and composition

The Midnight's previous album Kids was originally planned to be a larger release with more songs compared to the final product. It was later stated that its production was scaled back so Tyler Lyle would have more time to spend with his newborn child.[2] With the band having a lot of leftover ideas from the making of Kids, they decided to expand upon its themes and began work on a follow-up album as part of a planned trilogy.[3][2][4]

Some of the prizes given during the Fall 2020 ARG have revealed details about the development of Monsters. It had a working title of Kids 2 and several early demos of songs that appeared on Monsters were also shared. A snippet of America Online was shared on the band's social media in April 2018, predating the release of Kids.[5] An early instrumental snippet of the song Monsters included in the ARG prizes is named "Monsters (early instrumental demo for KIDS)", indicating that it was also initially planned to be included on Kids.

In February 2019, it was mentioned on the band's social media that new songs were being recorded in Atlanta (the home of Lyle).[6] On March 20, a no-captioned photo of an America Online startup screen was posted, the first official mention of the song since the April 2018 snippet.[7] On March 25, a new clip of America Online containing vocals was shared.[8] On April 5, a photo showing an America Online branded floppy disk with a caption of "New single dropping soon" was posted.[9] A tiny portion of the single artwork was shared on April 18,[10] followed by another small portion on April 29, with a release date of May 3 being announced.[11] The next day, the single was officially confirmed to be America Online.[12] The full single artwork was revealed on May 2.[13] The artwork showed a computer with an AIM-esque chat interface, along with a desktop showing a file called "Monsters.zip", which would later turn out to be the name of the album. On May 6, the band's Twitter account posted the single artwork and stated that the font used in it was the name of a track from the upcoming album.[14] A June 4 post showed an old System 7 interface with a text editor open and the font Helvetica selected, confirming the aforementioned song's name.[15]

Further sharing of information about the next album was infrequent for the remainder of 2019, largely due to the band's ongoing tour. During the tour, a few songs confirmed by the band to be on the pending album were performed, including Seventeen, Monsters, and Brooklyn. The band shared in October that the next album would have a song "that feels like the spiritual successor to Lost Boy"[16], and also stated in December that the album has "taken a lot of inspiration from world music."[17]

In January 2020, the band said that "there may or may not be an homage to Ecco the Dolphin on our upcoming album."[18] It was mentioned in February that the new album would have pan flute and saxophone,[19] and it was also confirmed for a 2020 release.[20] On April 24, a new snippet of the next single cover was posted on social media. On April 27, the single was confirmed to be Deep Blue with a release date of May 6. A short instrumental clip of the song was included in the post. The full single artwork was revealed on May 3.[21] On May 6, the release of Deep Blue was accompanied by the announcing of Monsters as the next The Midnight album, with a planned release date of July 10.[22] The artwork and tracklist were also revealed.

On May 29, Dance With Somebody was announced as the third single from Monsters alongside a short snippet of the song and a release date of June 3.[23] However, The Midnight announced on June 1 that the single's release would be delayed a week to June 10, with the postponement being done in solidarity with racial justice protests happening at the time in the US.[24] Prom Night was revealed to be the album's fourth and final single on June 18, with a short snippet and a release date of June 24 being shared.[25]

Monsters promotional poster

Monsters was officially released on July 10, 2020. Receiving mostly positive reviews, critics noted that the album moved the band's sound in a different direction and expanded its horizons, breaking the traditional mold of the synthwave genre.[26][27][28][29][30] The album was also the biggest commercial success to date for The Midnight, charting at number 134 on the Billboard 200,[31] number 12 on the Dance/Electronic Albums chart,[32][33] and number 18 on the Independent Albums chart.[34]

According to Tyler Lyle, a few that songs were written or sketched during the creation of Kids were held over for Monsters.[35] He also noted that the production of Monsters took longer than previous releases due to the band's tour schedule.[2][36][37] Monsters was released with fifteen tracks, the largest number to date on a The Midnight release. The title track is a collaboration with Jupiter Winter, a music duo consisting of Lelia Broussard and Royce Whittaker. Broussard co-wrote the track and sings vocals on the second verse. She had previously joined the band as a guitarist and backup vocalist during the Fall 2019 Tour. Broussard and Whittaker would both join The Midnight for the concert special The Midnight Online. Brooklyn, the album's eleventh track, was originally a solo song by Lyle from his album The Floating Years.[38]

A continuation of Kids,[39][40] the album explores the trials and tribulations of growing up as a teenager and young adult. McEwan noted that the songs on Monsters "range from calm to sad to aggressive, and reflect[s] some of the internal struggles of adolescence."[41] When asked about the significance of 1991, McEwan opined: "The KIDS have grown up. They're teens now. And 1991 was the year the internet went live. Hence the modem sound and opening the album with America Online."[42] Lyle has described Monsters as "an examination of the half in darkness, half in lightness war of individualization through adolescence."[43] During an interview with Icon Vs. Icon, he said about the album:[44]

We wanted MONSTERS to be about adolescence, where the adult world starts knocking on your door and you have to face questions about intimacy, closeness and alienation. It’s a continuation of KIDS in a lot of ways. We wrote a lot of songs for it and hopefully we have a lot of songs for the next record as well to complete the arc. This collection we really felt spoke to the theme of connection.

Monsters has been noted for having a new and different overall sound compared to previous releases by The Midnight. Tim McEwan said a goal with Monsters was to "broaden the palette a bit and sonically evolve the sound of not just us but what is allowed in synthwave and question what is synthwave" and also to not be "encumbered by rules of a genre."[44][45] McEwan elaborated further stating "I think there's a tendency with all genres to be bubbled into this chamber of one specific genre, and I felt it was important for us to move forward and to have the ability to move freely."[46] Tyler Lyle said with regards to Monsters that McEwan "is evolving the sound a little bit more" and that "We’re opening the palette a little bit more — in some ways becoming a little bit more acoustic and in other ways becoming more dance-focused in different areas.”[47] During a fan question-and-answer session on Twitter prior to the release of Monsters, he mentioned that he "wrote about 250 songs between 2016-2019" and "20 something of those songs got properly demoed/ realistically considered for Monsters."[48]

McEwan stated that he took inspiration from various genres including soft rock, lo-fi, hip-hop, and trance. Influences of vaporwave can also be heard on tracks like America Online and City Dreams (interlude).[49] The song Dream Away is mentioned by McEwan as being a "homage to the 90s wave of world influenced electronic music like Deep Forest and Engima."[50] Lyle said that his work on Monsters was inspired by a string of Bruce Springsteen albums from the late 1970s to early 1980s, with the song Prom Night regarded as "an openhearted nod to Springsteen's gift as a dark and complicated writer who could also write a full throated pop song without those two words seeming to contradict."[51] Lyle's vocals are supplemented with vocoder effects on the songs Monsters, Fire In The Sky, America Online, Deep Blue, and Night Skies, with the effect heard on Fire In The Sky actually being McEwan's voice.[52]

Singles

America Online
May 13, 2019
Deep Blue
May 6, 2020
Dance With Somebody
June 10, 2020
Prom Night
June 24, 2020

Track listing

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

Monsters
No.TitleLength
1."1991 (intro)"0:27
2."America Online"5:49
3."Dance With Somebody"4:17
4."Seventeen"4:02
5."Dream Away"3:39
6."The Search for Ecco"4:04
7."Prom Night"5:02
8."Fire In The Sky" (Lyle, McEwan and Collin McLoughlin)4:09
9."Monsters (feat. Jupiter Winter)" (Lyle, McEwan and Leila Broussard)3:17
10."Helvetica"5:16
11."Brooklyn"4:14
12."Deep Blue"3:57
13."Night Skies"3:04
14."City Dreams (interlude)"2:17
15."Last Train"4:22
Total length:57:56

Additional instrumentation was provided by Thomas Edinger (saxophone on Dance With Somebody), Oliver McEwan (synth bass on Dance With Somebody, Bass & fretless bass on Brooklyn), Daniel Heløy Davidsen (Lead guitar solo on Seventeen), Izzy Fontaine (additional guitar and guitar solo on Brooklyn, guitar on Prom Night & Last Train), and Jesse Molloy (saxophone on Deep Blue). The album was mixed by Tim McEwan and mastered by Emily Lazar and Chris Allgood at The Lodge in New York, NY. Songs were recorded in Los Angeles, CA, Atlanta, GA, and the back of a tour bus all over the world.

Artwork and layout by Aaron Campbell.

Release history and variants

Digital release history for Monsters
Date Edition
July 10, 2020 Standard
Monsters - album.jpg
-
October 8, 2020[53] Instrumentals
Monsters - album.jpg
Unlike previous instrumental releases, songs that were already instrumental on the original album are included as well.[54]
April 2, 2021 Stems
Monsters - album.jpg
Contains the 15 songs from the album denoted with BPMs plus 278 stem parts comprising all songs except for 1991 (intro) and Helvetica. The stems are not royalty free but projects and remixes made with them are allowed to be used on non-monetized platforms. First The Midnight EP/album to get a full stems release, which was done for The Midnight Remix Radio Vol. 2 remix contest.
Physical release history for Monsters
Year Format Color/Design
2020 Cassette Translucent Purple
TM Web Music Monsters Casette.webp
First tape variant.
2020 CD -
TM Web Music Monsters CD.webp
-
2020 LP Purple Swirl
TM Web Music Monsters LP Main.webp
First vinyl variant. First pressing was plagued with issues, with some listeners experiencing warbly playback, skipping, and various other problems, which misaligned holes on the vinyl might have caused.[55] Those who ordered the first pressing were sent an email offering a no-cost replacement. This variant received another pressing in August 2024 in the US.
2021 Cassette Transparent Purple/Transparent Orange
COUNTCAS198X-1mup.webp
Second tape variant. First double cassette release of a The Midnight EP/album, with the second tape containing the instrumentals.
2021 LP Purple Splatter
COUNT198-Purple-Front-Mockup-EDIT1-SQ.webp
Second vinyl variant. This variant received another pressing in August 2024 in the UK.

References

  1. ↑ https://themidnight.bandcamp.com/album/monsters
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "THE MIDNIGHT: Tim McEwan And Tyler Lyle On Bringing 'Monsters' To Life!". Icon Vision. July 9, 2020. Archived from the original on February 24, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  3. ↑ https://celebmix.com/exclusive-the-midnight-chat-about-new-album/
  4. ↑ https://edm.com/interviews/the-midnight-interview
  5. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BhKJu2enKnN/?hl=en
  6. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BthA52Jgqlk/
  7. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BvN9q1Fgn-Z/
  8. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BvaxeXUAdMe/
  9. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv4kcp4AmJb/
  10. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BwY8ZOkg0B7/
  11. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw3Gy8wAplG/
  12. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw5OMM_gJTg/
  13. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw94A6fJ_uF/
  14. ↑ https://twitter.com/TheMidnightLA/status/1125597102208208896
  15. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/ByTwgNQAe1C/
  16. ↑ https://twitter.com/TheMidnightLA/status/1185424671946108929
  17. ↑ https://twitter.com/TheMidnightLA/status/1211337621164584965
  18. ↑ https://twitter.com/TheMidnightLA/status/1219150931675058176
  19. ↑ https://twitter.com/TheMidnightLA/status/1233130503571529728
  20. ↑ https://twitter.com/TheMidnightLA/status/1233133817126256640
  21. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/B_ugmqlp8QY/
  22. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/B_2jzxcpQ22/
  23. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CAxgf9TA7PM/
  24. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CA56j6sJ-2y/
  25. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CBlUTPTpFew/
  26. ↑ https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/music/1307979/the-midnight-monsters-album-review-new-album-band-tyler-lyle-tim-mcewan-outrun-synthwave
  27. ↑ https://vehlinggo.com/2020/07/10/midnight-monsters-review/
  28. ↑ https://edm.com/music-releases/the-midnight-monsters
  29. ↑ https://exclaim.ca/music/article/the_midnight_monsters_album_review
  30. ↑ https://www.fuzzymag.co.uk/post/the-midnight-monsters-review
  31. ↑ https://www.billboard.com/music/The-Midnight/chart-history/TLP
  32. ↑ https://www.billboard.com/music/The-Midnight/chart-history/ELP
  33. ↑ https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/9423495/the-midnight-sofi-tukker-gorgon-city-dance-electronic-charts
  34. ↑ https://www.billboard.com/music/The-Midnight/chart-history/IND
  35. ↑ https://celebmix.com/exclusive-the-midnight-chat-about-new-album/
  36. ↑ https://americansongwriter.com/dance-with-somebody-by-the-midnight-song-premiere/
  37. ↑ https://twitter.com/tylerlyle/status/1278433049483632641
  38. ↑ https://tylerlyle.bandcamp.com/album/the-floating-years-2
  39. ↑ https://youtu.be/X9VPeEZKxlY?t=451
  40. ↑ https://americansongwriter.com/dance-with-somebody-by-the-midnight-song-premiere/
  41. ↑ https://edm.com/interviews/the-midnight-interview
  42. ↑ "We are The Midnight. Our new album Monsters is out today and we just announced our 2021 Europe and U.K. headline tour. Ask us anything! : electronicmusic". Reddit. July 10, 2020. Archived from the original on March 24, 2024. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  43. ↑ "We are The Midnight. Our new album Monsters is out today and we just announced our 2021 Europe and U.K. headline tour. Ask us anything! : electronicmusic". Reddit. July 10, 2020. Archived from the original on March 24, 2024. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 "THE MIDNIGHT: Tim McEwan And Tyler Lyle On Bringing 'Monsters' To Life!". Icon Vision. July 9, 2020. Archived from the original on February 24, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  45. ↑ "We are The Midnight. Our new album Monsters is out today and we just announced our 2021 Europe and U.K. headline tour. Ask us anything! : electronicmusic". Reddit. July 10, 2020. Archived from the original on March 24, 2024. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  46. ↑ https://headlinermagazine.net/headliners/the-midnight-future-nostalgia.html
  47. ↑ https://americansongwriter.com/dance-with-somebody-by-the-midnight-song-premiere/
  48. ↑ https://twitter.com/tylerlyle/status/1278430811939835910
  49. ↑ "We are The Midnight. Our new album Monsters is out today and we just announced our 2021 Europe and U.K. headline tour. Ask us anything! : electronicmusic". Reddit. July 10, 2020. Archived from the original on March 24, 2024. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  50. ↑ "We are The Midnight. Our new album Monsters is out today and we just announced our 2021 Europe and U.K. headline tour. Ask us anything! : electronicmusic". Reddit. July 10, 2020. Archived from the original on March 24, 2024. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  51. ↑ https://celebmix.com/exclusive-the-midnight-chat-about-new-album/
  52. ↑ "We are The Midnight. Our new album Monsters is out today and we just announced our 2021 Europe and U.K. headline tour. Ask us anything! : electronicmusic". Reddit. July 10, 2020. Archived from the original on March 24, 2024. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  53. ↑ https://themidnight.bandcamp.com/album/monsters-the-instrumentals
  54. ↑ https://themidnight.bandcamp.com/album/monsters-the-instrumentals
  55. ↑ "The Midnight – Monsters (2020, Purple w/ Pink Marbled Swirl , Vinyl) - Discogs". Discogs. Archived from the original on July 26, 2023. Retrieved July 26, 2023.

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