Heroes

From The Midnight Wiki
Heroes
Album by
ReleasedSeptember 9, 2022
Genre
  • Synthwave
  • Electronic
  • Rock
  • Americana
Length56:47
LabelCounter Records
ProducerTim McEwan
The Midnight chronology
The rearview mirror - ep.jpg
The Rearview Mirror

(2021)
Heroes - Album.jpg
Heroes

(2022)
Red White Bruised - Album.webp
Red, White and Bruised: The Midnight Live

(2023)
Singles from Heroes
  1. "Change Your Heart or Die"
    Released: April 14, 2022
  2. "Heartbeat"
    Released: June 8, 2022
  3. "Avalanche"
    Released: July 6, 2022
  4. "Brooklyn. Friday. Love."
    Released: August 3, 2022
  5. "Heart Worth Breaking"
    Released: August 24, 2022
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Daily Express[2]

Heroes is the fifth album by The Midnight. It is was released on September 9, 2022.[3][4] Five singles were issued from Heroes prior to the album's release: Change Your Heart or Die, Heartbeat, Avalanche, Brooklyn. Friday. Love., and Heart Worth Breaking.

Background and composition

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This wiki article is currently being worked on. More info will be added soon.

Heroes is the culmination of a trilogy that began with Kids and Monsters. The writing sessions during Kids yielded many songs and ideas that did not make the album due to time constraints, so it was decided to extend the story arc of Kids across multiple albums.[5]

In early 2021, Tim McEwan began streaming the creation of new songs on Twitch. Several of the songs previewed during those sessions found their way to Heroes. Aside from Twitch, previews and hints of new material on the band's other social media platforms was minimal compared to previous The Midnight releases.

During the Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 Tour, The Midnight began playing a new song, Change Your Heart or Die. The song was teased as being on the next record.

Official description

“The last 2 years have been so hard for so many people. ‘Heartbeat’ is a reminder that love and empathy is not a finite resource. There is love enough.” – The Midnight

8th June 2022 – The Midnight are thrilled to be announcing their new full-length studio album Heroes – due out September 9th via Counter Records. Along with the news, the band is releasing the celebratory new single “Heartbeat” – a rousing and electrifying track that helps set the tone for the album, which was written during isolation by the band’s Tim McEwan and Tyler Lyle. Heroes represents a clear sonic shift for the duo, who have expanded their lineup to include three live musicians – Lelia Broussard on bass, Royce Whittaker on guitar, and Justin Klunk on saxophone and synth – with both Broussard and Whittaker working alongside them on the new LP which was produced by McEwan and mixed by Ingmar Carlson (Tate McCrae, Disclosure, Carly Rae Jepsen).

Heroes is also the third in a trilogy of albums that started with 2018’s Kids – which reached #1 on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Chart – and was followed in 2020 with Monsters. “…for me, Kids is self-knowledge, Monsters is self-love, and then Heroes is empathy,” said Lyle. “I got into depth psychology and this idea of etiology, the way a human forms,” he said about Heroes, adding that “the world doesn't get better but we do. We grow into ourselves. We grow into our voice.”

You can hear this shift in the new songs which are more visceral and warmer. For a band that started as a synth-heavy duo, they have come a long way – creating fully realized arena worthy songs. From new single “Heartbeat” with its Van Halen-inspired synth leads, echoing drums, layered vocal chants and an explosive chorus to last month’s single, the propulsive guitar-laden “Change Your Heart or Die” – Heroes ushers in The Midnight’s next era with some of their biggest and boldest songs yet.

While taking a huge sonic step forward on Heroes, the band’s music still possesses the dramatic and nostalgic streak they’ve become known for since their 2014 debut in EP Days of Thunder. The new LP also reflects the confidence they’ve gained in their songwriting thanks in part due to their expanded live lineup. The band’s vivid sound is well-suited to full rock instrumentation, and the five-piece has cemented that in front on massive sold-out crowds this past year in 1-2k-capacity venues, up from 500-capacity clubs in 2019 and looking ahead to selling out London’s 5k-person Brixton Academy and similar sized venues in 2022.

Heroes is an album of songs about togetherness and trials won by love. Listen to both “Heartbeat” and “Change Your Heart or Die” now.

[4]

Singles

Heartbeat
June 8, 2022
Avalanche
July 6, 2022
Heart Worth Breaking
August 24, 2022

Media

Track listing

Heroes
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Golden Gate"6:04
2."Brooklyn. Friday. Love."3:52
3."Heartbeat"
  • Lyle
  • McEwan
  • Flores
  • Whittaker
3:50
4."A Place of Her Own"
  • Lyle
  • McEwan
5:33
5."Heroes"
5:13
6."Heart Worth Breaking"
  • Lyle
  • McEwan
  • Broussard
  • Whittaker
5:07
7."Loved By You"
  • Lyle
  • McEwan
3:44
8."Aerostar"
  • Lyle
  • McEwan
  • Whittaker
4:55
9."Change Your Heart or Die"
  • Lyle
  • McEwan
3:31
10."Avalanche"
  • Lyle
  • McEwan
  • Jessie Frye
4:27
11."Souvenir"
  • Lyle
  • McEwan
  • Whittaker
3:34
12."Photograph"
  • Lyle
  • McEwan
2:37
13."Energy Never Dies, It Just Transforms"
  • Lyle
  • McEwan
4:20
Total length:56:47


Heroes (Deluxe LP Version)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
14."Golden Gate (Demo)"
  • Lyle
  • McEwan
 
15."A Place of Her Own (Demo)"
  • Lyle
  • McEwan
 
16."Change Your Heart or Die (Live)"
  • Lyle
  • McEwan
 
17."Souvenir (Tyler's Version - 2019)"Lyle 
Total length:-

Recorded in Atlanta|GA and Los Angeles|CA
Mixed by Ingmar Carlson at The Gift Shop in Los Angeles|CA
Mastered by Emily Lazar at The Lodge in New York|NY

Charts

Chart (2022) Peak position
US Billboard 200 134
US Billboard Album Sales 8
US Billboard Current Album Sales 8
US Billboard Top Dance/Electronic Albums 3
US Billboard Heatseekers Albums 2
US Billboard Independent Albums 22
US Billboard Vinyl ALbums 4
UK Albums 74

Release history and variants

Digital release history for Heroes
Date Edition
September 9, 2022 Standard
Heroes - Album.jpg
-
October 28, 2022 Instrumentals
Heroes - Album.jpg
Includes both the original and instrumental versions.
Physical release history for Heroes
Year Format Color/Design
2022 Cassette Translucent Blue
Heroes Cass-case-grey.webp

Heroes Cass-jcard-grey.webp
First tape variant. Has fold out J-card insert.
2022 CD -
Heroes CD-front-grey 7827effd-fa0b-4a9d-aed7-04c25b6f26c8.webp
-
2022 LP Translucent Blue
Heroes LP-standard-front-grey.webp
One of the first vinyl variants, alongside the Marbled Violet Deluxe and Spotify Fans First Clear with Splatter variants. This variant was also available to buy signed by Tim and Tyler.
2022 LP Clear with Splatter
Heroes-LP Spotify-Front-grey shadows.webp
One of the first vinyl variants, alongside the Marbled Violet Deluxe and Translucent Blue variants. Designated as the "Spotify Fans First Edition". Top listeners of The Midnight on Spotify were emailed a link to buy this variant.
2022 LP Marbled Violet
Heroes LP-DLX-front-grey.webp
One of the first vinyl variants, alongside the Translucent Blue and Spotify Fans First Clear with Splatter variants. Designated as the "Deluxe Edition". Additional features of this variant include a third record with four bonus tracks, lenticular cover art, a sticker sheet, and a photo booklet. With the exception of Souvenir (Tyler's Version - 2019), the bonus tracks have not been released outside of this variant.

References

  1. "The Midnight - Heroes Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  2. Crumlish, Callum (September 8, 2022). "The Midnight: Heroes review - Saving music with their best album yet". Express.co.uk.
  3. "the midnight on Twitter". Twitter. June 8, 2022. Archived from the original on June 8, 2022. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Heroes | The Midnight". Bandcamp. Archived from the original on June 8, 2022. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  5. Laing, Rob (September 1, 2022). "Interview: The Midnight's Tim McEwan and Tyler Lyle talk synthwave, soundscaping and new album Heroes | MusicRadar". MusicRadar. Archived from the original on September 8, 2022. Retrieved September 8, 2022.