Kids

2018 album by The Midnight
Kids - album.jpg
This article is about the album. For the songs, see Kids (Prelude) and Kids (Reprise).
Kids
Album by
The Midnight
ReleasedSeptember 21, 2018
GenreSynthwave
Length33:51
LabelThe Midnight Music
ProducerTim McEwan
The Midnight chronology
Nocturnal - album.jpg
Nocturnal
(2017) 		Kids - album.jpg
Kids
(2018) 		Remixed 02 - album.jpg
The Midnight Remixed 02
(2019)
Singles from Kids
  1. "Lost Boy"
    Released: July 13, 2018
  2. "America 2"
    Released: August 3, 2018
  3. "Arcade Dreams"
    Released: September 7, 2018

Kids is the third album by The Midnight. It was released independently by the band on September 21, 2018,[1] and was preceded by the release of three singles: Lost Boy, America 2, and Arcade Dreams.

Background and composition

The Midnight's previous album Nocturnal featured a distinctive dark and noir sound. For the next album, Tim McEwan expressed a desire to move away from this sound and create music that was more upbeat and happy but still had some hints of sadness.[2] Inspired by the television show Stranger Things and the idea of living in the memories of childhood, McEwan called Tyler Lyle the day after the release of Nocturnal and shared this vision with him. Lyle was receptive to the idea, and thus the process of creating Kids began.

One of the first public mentions of a new release came during a November 2017 interview with Vehlinggo shortly after the release of Nocturnal. McEwan revealed that a new and more "summer feeling" EP was in development and planned for release in the spring or summer of 2018.[3] Giving an early hint at the theme, he stated, “I like to think about it as what the kids from Stranger Things are listening to when they’re not chasing monsters.” The band said on social media in March 2018 that the next album would be "dedicated to the disaffected youth."[4] In May, more info about the new album's direction and theme were shared, with the band stating the "the opening track on our next album is gonna hit you right in the feels" and that it would be their most ambitious album to date - the most challenging so far for McEwan as a producer.[5] They also stated that "A lot of the tracks on our new album are dedicated to late nights on the Internet."[6]

Load video
Local File
Kids trailer

On July 2, 2018, it was announced on the band's social media that a new single was imminent.[7] On July 6, a small snippet of the single's artwork was shown and a release date of July 13 was given.[8] The next day, the single was confirmed to be Lost Boy[9] and the full artwork was revealed on July 11.[10] On July 28, another single was teased.[11] On August 1, the second single was revealed to be America 2 and was slated for an August 3 release.[12] More songs were hinted at on August 11,[13] and on August 16 Kids was officially revealed with a video trailer.[14] The trailer played a small snippet from Kids (Reprise) and gave a release date of September 21 for the album. On September 5, Arcade Dreams was announced as the third and final single from Kids and was released on September 7.[15]

Kids was officially released on September 21, 2018.[1] Despite receiving more mixed reviews compared to previous The Midnight releases,[16][17][18][19][20] Kids was a successful release for the band commercially, debuting at number one on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Album Sales chart with week one sales of 2000 copies.[21] It also charted at number 12 on the Dance/Electronic Albums chart, number two on the Heatseekers Albums chart, and number 13 on the Independent Albums chart.[22]

The title Kids was suggested early in development by McEwan, with Lyle also approving of the name. At the time, he and his wife Anna were expecting their first child.[23] The first song created for Kids was Lost Boy, an old track of The Midnight's that had been written back in 2015 with Finnish DJ Lenno Linjama.[24] The song was originally titled In The Dark and had a more house feel compared to the final version. Although the band liked the track, they felt it wouldn't have fit well on Nocturnal and held the song out for a future release instead. Deciding to use the song for Kids, McEwan took the original demo and rebuilt the song, doubling the tempo and running the melody and beats in half-time. In the words of McEwan, Lost Boy would be a table-setter for the rest of Kids, which the band considers to be their first "theme" album.[25] The album was originally planned to be longer with more tracks, but it was decided to shorten the release to reduce Lyle's workload while he was caring for his newborn son. The band eventually decided to make Kids the first release in a trilogy series of albums, which would be followed by Monsters and Heroes.

The artwork for Kids was designed by Aaron Campbell, who also designed all the artwork for the album's singles as well.[26] The date on the album art for Kids, October 18, 1985, is a reference to the North American launch of the Nintendo Entertainment System.

Singles

Lost Boy
July 13, 2018
America 2
August 3, 2018
Arcade Dreams
September 7, 2018

Track listing

All tracks are written by Tim McEwan and Tyler Lyle except for Lost Boy, which was written by Tyler Lyle, Tim McEwan, and Lenno Linjama.

Kids
No.TitleLength
1."Youth"3:09
2."Wave"4:31
3."Kids (Prelude)"2:13
4."Lost Boy"4:37
5."Saturday Mornings (Interlude)"0:57
6."Explorers"4:16
7."America 2"4:01
8."Arcade Dreams"4:03
9."Kids (Reprise)"6:04
Total length:33:51

Release history and variants

Digital release history for Kids
Date Edition
September 21, 2018 Standard
Kids - album.jpg
-
October 30, 2018[27] Instrumentals
Kids - album.jpg
Only includes songs that had vocals on the original release.
April 2, 2021 Stems
Kids - album.jpg
Contains the nine songs from the album denoted with BPMs plus 99 stem parts comprising all songs except for Kids (Prelude) and Saturday Mornings (Interlude). The stems are not royalty free but projects and remixes made with them are allowed to be used on non-monetized platforms.
Physical release history for Kids
Year Format Color/Design
2018 Cassette Transparent Purple
The-Midnight Casette Kids-Pink 1024x1024.webp
First tape variant. Color also referred to as pink.
2018 CD -
TM Web Music Kids CD.webp
Original release included a set of four postcards of artwork from Kids and its singles. One postcard in each set was signed by Tim and Tyler.
2018 LP Midnight Magenta
TM Web Music Kids LP Pink.webp
First vinyl variant. Preorders began prior to album release and started shipping in October. Saturday Mornings (Interlude) is not listed on the tracklist but is still present at the beginning of side B. After the initial run sold out, there was not a repress until late 2022.
2022 Cassette Transparent Green
TM Web Music Kids Casette Sea-Green.webp
Second tape variant. Color also referred to as "seafoam green".
2024 LP Transparent Pink
TM Web Music Kids LP Pink - 2.webp
Second vinyl variant.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Kids | The Midnight". Bandcamp. September 21, 2018. Archived from the original on June 18, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
  2. ↑ https://soundcloud.com/beyond-synth/170-themidnight%7CAt 1:49:55|
  3. ↑ "Who Are The Midnight?: An Interview with the Masters of Modern Nostalgia". Vehlinggo. November 12, 2017. Archived from the original on March 24, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  4. ↑ "The Midnight - Our next album is dedicated to the disaffected... | Facebook". Facebook. March 24, 2018. Archived from the original on May 6, 2024. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
  5. ↑ "The Midnight - The opening track on our next album is gonna hit... | Facebook". Facebook. May 19, 2018. Archived from the original on May 6, 2024. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
  6. ↑ "The Midnight - A lot of the tracks on our new album are dedicated... | Facebook". Facebook. May 20, 2018. Archived from the original on May 6, 2024. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
  7. ↑ "ｔｈｅ　ｍｉｄｎｉｇｈｔ (@themidnightofficial) • Instagram photos and videos". Instagram. July 2, 2018. Archived from the original on May 7, 2024. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  8. ↑ "ｔｈｅ　ｍｉｄｎｉｇｈｔ (@themidnightofficial) • Instagram photos and videos". Instagram. July 6, 2018. Archived from the original on May 7, 2024. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  9. ↑ "ｔｈｅ　ｍｉｄｎｉｇｈｔ (@themidnightofficial) • Instagram photos and videos". Instagram. July 7, 2018. Archived from the original on May 7, 2024. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  10. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BlFSf9XHjB2/
  11. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/Bl1N1s1nOUZ/
  12. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/Bl8KbfYnpv7/
  13. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BmU06igFHS7/
  14. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BmitYzgFtFx/
  15. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/BnW2BPoF9cB/
  16. ↑ "Album Review: The Midnight - Kids - Iron Skullet". Iron Skullet. September 24, 2018. Archived from the original on September 27, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  17. ↑ Vehling, Aaron (September 21, 2018). "The Midnight - Kids • Review • Vehlinggo". Vehlinggo. Archived from the original on May 6, 2023. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  18. ↑ Sievers, Alex (September 24, 2018). "Album Review: The Midnight - 'Kids' | KillYourStereo | Australian and International Punk, Hardcore, Metal, Rock and Indie Music News, Reviews, Interviews and Comps". Kill Your Stereo. Archived from the original on March 24, 2024. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  19. ↑ Treakle, James (July 15, 2019). "[Album Review] Not a Sentimental Age – Kids (2018) by The Midnight — Indie Frontiers". Indie Frontiers. Archived from the original on July 17, 2019. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  20. ↑ Zistler, Andrew (September 23, 2018). "The Midnight - Kids - NewRetroWave - Stay Retro! | Live The 80's Dream!". NewRetroWave. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  21. ↑ Murray, Gordon (October 4, 2018). "The Midnight, Karel & XoJani and Whethan: Billboard Dance Chart Upstarts | Billboard". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 5, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  22. ↑ "The Midnight | Billboard". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 24, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  23. ↑ "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.
  24. ↑ https://soundcloud.com/beyond-synth/170-themidnight%7CAt 2:07:00|
  25. ↑ "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.
  26. ↑ "Aaron Campbell - The Midnight - KIDS". Aaron Campbell. Archived from the original on June 3, 2024. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  27. ↑ https://themidnight.bandcamp.com/album/kids-the-instrumentals

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