This two-CD album, released in 1995, is this uniquely
bizarre band's second and most austere effort. As mentioned above, Midnight
Radio is similar in style to Sunset Mission, minus the piano
and saxophone. This results in a very hypnotic listening experience.
As much as I love this album, I still don't think
I've been able to listen to either of the 74-minute disks all the way
through without falling into a deep slumber. However, that's one of the
main reasons why I listen to this album as much as I do. Certainly the
minimalism of the material is a reason for this, but it's mainly due to
how slow the music is.
Technically, there is drumming on Midnight Radio,
but what this basically means is: some guy with a brush hitting the hi-hat
once every 20 seconds, and the ever so faint tap of a butterfly hitting
a bass drum. Meanwhile, a rich bass sound pours out of my sub-woofer,
finely offset by the sound of the guitar.
So many of the tones on this album capture the eerie
feelings on David Lynch's TV series "Twin Peaks," but heavier. Therefore,
a certain lounge-like quality exists on Midnight Radio.
Like its successor, Midnight Radio's album
booklet is filled with nighttime urban scenes - buildings, streets and
neon signs, all devoid of organic life - plain and charmless. Coupling
the photos with the music gives you an image of wandering incognito through
this opium world, with the collar of your trench coat flipped up, and
the brim of your hat pulled down right above your eyes. What mysteries
are there to be unlocked from the catatonic universe of Midnight Radio?
