Good Morning Midnight

Good Morning Midnight’s eight-song album All the Birds’ Men flexes a variety of musical muscles, touching on punk, goth, dream-pop, and Americana. This set relies on standard rock instrumentation but introduces unexpected effects (heavier on the chorus than distortion, but still dynamically charged) to build a unique spectrum of sounds. The music is identifiable as the same band from one track to the next, but the defining feature of the album is how easily it alights on multiple genres.

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Generally speaking, these eight songs alternate between the familiar and the eerie. “UNITED STATES IS MIND CONTROL” hollers its punk-rock anthem like an impression of Minutemen trying to kick out the jams. But then the album veers away from all out catharsis, not returning to this mode until the closing track “BIRDS FLY FAST.” Good Morning Midnight maintains a punk ethos throughout the album, but tracks two through seven depend on nuance and mood rather than pure energy.

 “Lucky Penny” might feel at home alongside Wish-era Cure, except its plaintive vocals pull it into more alt-rock territory. The result is an alluringly dreary rocker akin to underappreciated 90s bands like Afghan Whigs. The chorused-up guitars on third track “The Loner” don’t disguise its Cars-esque precision, nor do they try to: its chorus is straight-up 80’s FM radio gold, as is the entirety of Big Star/Matthew Sweet/Teenage Fanclub paean “Sweet Cherry Pie.” A high point in the middle of the album, “Birds Fly” is another dreamy slow burner that suggests Good Morning Midnight might be at their best when they hold back the dynamics and allow themselves to expand sonically. 

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All these songs do an excellent job bridging the gap between restraint and catharsis. The ability to competently rock so many different styles belies an important feature of Good Morning Midnight’s music: these bandmates sound like they have a blast playing together. To my ears, Good Morning Midnight is at their most interesting when they don’t just build mood but guide it, an orchestration of emotional nuance that isn’t easily accomplished. All the Birds’ Men displays this capacity across multiple styles. You might not know what you’re going to hear when you listen to Good Morning Midnight, but you can expect it to be deliberate, skillful, and moving.