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New Line/Scratchie
Released: October 24, 2006 |
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Midnight Movies
The California landscape serves as a perfect backdrop and obvious inspiration for Midnight Movies’ forthcoming album, Lion The Girl. The hypnotic vocals of Gena Olivier cut a seductive path through the layers of lovely psychedelic soundscapes.
“Patient Eye,” the digital single previewing Midnight Movies’ new album, captures a moment, an instant of longing. It draws you in with its dark, minimalist rhythms, then embraces you in a warm, cascading melody as Olivier sings: “A patient eye/ I wait for yours to land on mine/ And rest your head/ For just the time it takes/ To kiss your face one time/ And then you’re gone again … ”
A first taste for Lion The Girl, “Patient Eye” will become available for downloading on iTunes and other locations Oct. 24, 2006. The single boasts a b-side – a cover of Syd Barrett’s “Golden Hair.” Their choice of covers is better explained by Midnight Movies’ guitarist Larry Schemel: “We’ve always loved the way Syd Barrett adapted this James Joyce poem into a very ominous yet delicate kind of hymn.”
Lion The Girl, meanwhile, is due March 6, 2007, on New Line Records. The album was recorded in Seattle with Steve Fisk (Screaming Trees, Nirvana, Pell Mell).
Joined in Midnight Movies by Schemel, bassist Ryan Wood and drummer Sandra Vu, Olivier says Lion The Girl posits “a love so true and strong that it inspires you to be your best self.” She believes this love is attainable, but as in “Patient Eye,” there is a persistent intimation of something out of reach. This is due in part to the inexorably wistful tone of Olivier’s voice, a bewitching instrument that, floating amid MM’s beautiful dreamscapes, has helped earned the quartet critical acclaim and a devoted following.
Some of those devotees may be surprised by the “quartet” designation, as the group initially made its mark as a trio, with Olivier behind the drum kit and keyboardist Jason Hammons. Asked about the departure of Hammons, Olivier says: “I think people are disappointed that the story isn’t juicier. I just realized I was compromising my vocals to play drums onstage, which was really limiting. It also seemed like Larry and I were more interested in experimenting so Jason started doing his own thing. Now he’s got a new band and he’s totally rockin’ it.”
Midnight Movies first made waves in 2004 with their eponymous full-length debut. Aggressive guitars crunch and raise the tension. The drums speed up and thump, driving the music into a raucous frenzy. And, undoubtedly, Olivier’s haunting vocals cut through and crystallize that intensity with mysterious elegance. The Los Angeles Times called the album “undeniably cinematic.”
“We’ve gone weirdly full circle,” says Schemel of the band’s current incarnation. “In the beginning, it was just Gena and me. We had this instant chemistry. Of course, our songwriting is a lot more confident now, more dynamic.”
Midnight Movies are:
Gena Olivier, vocals, keyboards
Larry Schemel, guitar
Ryan Wood, bass, keyboards
Sandra Vu, drums
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