Midnight Review Presents:
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Midnight Review Presents:

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada | SELF

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada | SELF
Band Comedy Avant-garde

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This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

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"Midnight Review Presents The Moonlighters (Independent )"

The heavy, dark debut of hardcore collective Midnight Review Presents is abrasive, lo-fi, and very, very creepy. The first two tracks City Boy and DM’ing, with their heavy guitars, fast drums and screeching vocals, set the tone for what’s to follow. Let’s Start A Fire has actual audible vocals, and its DIY aesthetic suits the kind of B-movie horror soundtrack the album artwork signifies, and Kiss Me, I’m Strange pulses irritatingly under a warped, affected speaking voice. Although The Moonlighters is not intended to sound pretty, it really doesn’t sound like much at all.

– Emily Wessel - UPTOWN 9/02/2012


"Review: Midnight Review Presents – The Moonlighters"

When I first laid my eyes on Midnight Review Presents’s The Moonlighters, my eyes grew bigger and danced around in ecstasy – the artwork is simply fantastic and pays terrific homage to old school horror films and culture. The excitement raged through me and I couldn’t wait to put this bad boy in the CD player. Hitting the play button, I cannot explain how different the contrast in emotions was after just 20 seconds. The buzzing noise and nails-on-a-chalkboard treble massacred my ears, viciously slashing away at my eardrums like Michael Myers on Halloween, as I strongly believed my editor was somehow punishing me for all my cheeky comments on his Facebook wall.
Initially, I was going to dismiss this release as a complete waste of time, but I decided to research this effort a bit more. What I found out undeniably opened my eyes, ears and mind. The Moonlighters is an effort that was recorded in lo-fi, or low fidelity, which contains several technical flaws like distortion, background noise and limited frequency response – basically, it sounds like a low budget recording. Followers of this approach claim its superiority, because it gives the music more of a genuine feel and atmosphere (in the case of The Moonlighters, a menacing horror soundtrack that evokes images of an inbred axe-murderer chasing you around a cornfield), whilst rejecting the overproduction and modern techniques of commercial music (punk DIY all the way). Interestingly, most of these efforts are also recorded in one-take, so, in a way, they’re the most accurate recorded representation you can have of an artist/band.
Armed with this newfound knowledge, I listen to this release again and again, turning down the volume dial and following the instruction to use headphones. But I keep struggling with it – it just won’t stick and none of the tracks seem to stand out from the rancid pack. I can appreciate the guts it took to put out something as bold as this, but even after numerous listens I just cannot get into it. It doesn’t sound experimental; The Moonlighters just feels like a cheap demo from first year music students, who probably just downloaded Cubase from a torrent site and decided to “create” an album.
In closing, I’ll say that Midnight Review Presents’s The Moonlighters is an ambitious, artsy effort, which is where it earns its biggest points in this review (it’s at least trying to be different), but it misses the mark – even with its desired target audience.
38/100
- Frankie Styxx
- Musicreview.co.za 10/13/2011


"MIDNIGHT REVIEW PRESENTS The Moonlighters (Independent)"

YOU can't judge an album by its cover, but the horror-movie-inspired artwork on the debut release by the Midnight Review Presents gives you an idea what to expect: some terrifically terrifying music.
The mysterious Winnipeg art collective dabbles in lo-fi abrasive rock, garage scuzz and cinematic soundscapes that could have been composed by some mad scientist in a basement lab. City Boy, DM'ing and Kiss Me, I'm Strange are heavy jolts of distorted, disjointed noise rock that bring to mind the late-great local bands Stagmummer and the Kittens; Let's Start a Fire is a slab of sinister 60's garage with some playful background vocals; while Me & My Leather is the band's twisted take on rockabilly.
Things take a directional shift to more of a soundtrack feel during the last three songs of the eight track release with tense tinkling piano, eerie vocals and other experimental, creepy effects causing some unease.
The Moonlighters is a scary good album for fans of things that make noise in the night. Four stars

-- Rob Williams
- Winnipeg Free Press 11/19/2011


Discography

Midnight Review Presents:
the Moonlighters (2010)

1- City Boy
2- DM'ing
3- Let's Start A Fire
4- Kiss Me, I'm Strange
5- Me and My Leather
6- Nights Like These
7- Love Bites
8- Pickin' Pockets

Photos

Bio

With a strong DIY ethic, Winnipeg's Midnight Review Presents is putting some of today's best music out there, as well as some of the most cutting edge video. The members of this collective produce moody, peculiar, avant garde works of art. With a musical aesthetic based in the lo-fi tradition, and a video aesthetic firmly rooted in B-movie horror. Midnight Review Presents takes pride in being an art collective with suspense.

A fine example of the Midnight Review's manifesto is the Moonlighters. This the debut release from musical mastermind Matthew Powers. In checking out this full length, you won't find the usual one-dimensional indie. Instead, you'll find music from the fringe. Moody, noisy, and textured. You will hear variety. You may be frightened. Recorded in the basements, apartments, living rooms, and bathrooms of Winnipeg, this is music full of vampires, villains and vile fiends. To help get his musical vision across, Powers enlisted some of the city's top musical talent, who improv’d and one-taked their way through madness. The Moonlighters is one of the premier releases of the year: scary good.