Midnight Reruns – “Forces Of Nurture” Review
Posted: by Sean Gonzalez
The best thing that Graham Hunt decided to do was just be in a band. That is all he wanted to do, creating a project that did not have to be rooted in punk. Enter Midnight Reruns, a pure guitar driven rock n’ roll band through and through. Forces of Nurture is their sophomore album and anything but a slump.
From the first few speedy guitar lines of ‘There’s An Animal Upstairs’ to the final dreamy pulses of ‘Great Southern Rail,’ the ten song, 40 minute LP is a blast of nostalgic sounds familiar to all fans of music. They waste no time in making sure their songs hit hard because their sound is very driven and constantly flowing between musical sections of guitar riffs. The vocals seem like a an extra to the scene, at times just casually weaving between the instruments (“Sky Water Blue”) or actually leading the song with powerful melodies (“Canadian Summer”). The self titled song here is a slow and mechanical mix of The Hives and Diarrhea Planet. At times I can hear the progressions of other rock acts in Midnight Reruns music as well, creating a familiar vibe that is enjoyable to listen to.
Even in the latter half of the album, Midnight Reruns have a song such as ‘Note On As Bill’ which is almost in shoegaze territory with it’s long guitartacular ending. The bass here is keeping a smooth steady groove as if it was straight out of Led Zeppelin track, it’s awesome. Immediately after ‘Where’s Ace?’ winds listeners up with twisting drum patterns and dazzling guitar harmonies. Terrific songwriting, careful setup and even greater executions help listeners get lost with this LP. Take the penultimate track ‘Somewhere In Between,’ a tripped out song that brings about an eerie sensation with the distraught vocal delivery and the crushing guitars. To add to all of this, the lyrics can have their own heavy hitting aspects, talking about drug use, panic attacks and learning how to live being disconnected from people. The album ends with a dramatic eight minute epic that features some of the most emotional vocals, raw songwriting and Midnight Rerun‘s incredible songwriting ability. Every transition into a new section adds another layer of power, eventually exploding into an acid laced guitar loop worthy of any festival goer.
I did not expect to have such fun listening to Forces Of Nurture. The terrific blend of sludgy colossal guitar riffs and dreamy transcendental guitar leads is so well done one can forget which is which. At the surface, Forces Of Nurture might be another feel good rock album, but Midnight Reruns make sure to bring it to life with incredible songs paced to constantly keep your head nodding along. Every song is as dynamic as the next, make sure you don’t sleep on this. Make sure you catch the band at Fest 14 this coming week.
Score: 8.5/10
