By Monk
One of the beauties of being in the position that we are in, both as music fans (first and foremost) and journalists (which is very much a secondary consideration), is being able to get in at the very first stages of a band’s career and subsequently watch them bloom and blossom into the best in their chosen mien… I’ve been fortunate to have been in such a position dozens of times, watching a plethora of bands whom it would be unfair to namecheck in isolation develop and grow, building on momentum and, oftentimes, overcoming severe adversity to do so… Of course, many others have fallen by the wayside, but it always has been a pleasure to be there at the beginning… Such as we were with Midnite City…
Yes, we were there, front and centre, when they played their first ever gig – one of only two media outlets (and how many have been salivating over them ever since?) to be present to witness the birth of the band that have gone on to become the leaders of the ÜK’s all-too scant hair metal scene – a position they have emphasized, yet again with this, their declarative and dynamic fourth album, one which defiantly lives up to its title as, at a time in their career when many bands would play it safe and tread water, Midnite City once more power bomb their way into the cesspool of mediocrity, attack it with more hairspray than a L’Oreal factory can produce in a month of Sundays and then climb back out, dry themselves off, plug in their guitars and turn everything up to 11 \m/
‘Hardest Heart To Break’ and ‘Good Time Music’ once again show Def Leppard, currently disappointing audiences across these isles with their lacklaustre attempts to follow the renascent Mötley Crüe, how this sort of anthemic, radio-friendly rock ‘n’ roll is not only supposed to be done but in fact DONE. Full stop. Talking of taking on the big guns… ‘All Fall Down’ sees frontman Rob Wylde stand toe-to-toe with Jon Bon Jovi, mic-drop him to fuck and give him a cheeky a bitch slap on the ass he flips the bird and defies him to “suck it” as he struts his way out the studio door.
Once again, Midnite City have redefined the term “all-killer-no-filler” with an album that is just that. Each and every song, each note, each harmony, each melody, each riff delivers. On every level. Rob Wylde is once again on superb form, his voice reaching the parts of your aural cortices others can’t even approach, while the rest of the band are on absolute fire, delivering this beautifully crafted collection of songs with fiery passion and belief. I’ve been rinsing this album for a month now; it serves as the soundtrack to my daily commute, and I have every confidence that it will remain so for some time to come. A complete aural experience.
- ‘In At The Deep End‘ is out now.
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