Harking back to the psychedelic '60s yet pushing forward into the post-modern pastiche, Midnight Movies’ sophomore album, Lion The Girl, due April 24, 2007 on New Line Records, captures a darker, more mysterious side of the band and their hometown Los Angeles. The foursome previewed this new sound with the digital release of single Patient Eye, late last year.
Anchored by frontwoman
Gena Olivier’s bewitching vocals and
Larry Schemel’s buzzing guitars, the album boasts the debut of a new rhythm section, bassist
Ryan Wood and drummer
Sandra Vu. The expanded line-up amplifies Midnight Movies’ trademark cinematic pop while exploring new musical territory. Lead track, “Souvenirs,” envelops the listener in a blanket of atmospheric guitar before turning into a dancey new wave number with a slow-burning finale, aptly highlighting Olivier’s timeless voice. Yet this is a mere sample of the emotionally complex songs which frequently address the push and pull of intimacy and independence contained on the album.
“It’s an album about pure love,” explains singer Olivier of the disc. “A recurring theme in the album is the longing for or celebration of truth and those rare but vital glimpses of pure love.”
Produced by Steve Fisk (Nirvana, Screaming Trees, Pell Mell), Lion The Girl finds the band exploring darkly baroque psychedelia (the brooding but tender “Patient Eye,” the insistent, incantatory “Lion Song”), Velvets-inflected girl-group pop (the stately “Ribbons”) and even kraut rock (the driving “Coral Den”).
Midnight Movies first made its mark with its eponymous 2004 debut full-length, garnering praise and earning them support slots with kindred spirits like Clinic, Luna and the Von Bondies. Their irresistibly haunting sounds will be heard on the road this Spring.
