All of which, whilst undoubtedly true and evident across the songs here, adds up to what sounds like a very 'global' album, working across cultures, continents and musical styles, but that's not necessarily how it sounds. This is much more of a lower-case globalism, an intelligent pop music with a pan-global approach. 'The multicultural nature of the music is a really interesting area to explore,' Brambl explains to me by email. 'We've tried to make an educated attempt at incorporating other influences. The odd thing is that although we've studied many of the traditions – like west African guitar music – whenever we introduce elements that sound too "authentic", we end up with something that sounds, to our ears, less interesting. Swirling around these influences seems to produce more artistically satisfying work, and it also gives us a lot more freedom. We find ourselves asking questions like "what would a mid 70s Fela Kuti song sound like if it were produced by King Tubby and remixed by Lindstrom?"' The output of that blend is the ballsy, confident disco-pop-meets-African-guitar of 'Remember The Land'.
Brambl adds that the multi-cultural element isn't just a case of deploying global instrumentation, but in the lyrical content of the songs themselves. 'One theme that emerges is how music is carried over borders, usually by people who are experiencing some kind of hardship. So we came up with a few stories for the songs along those lines. We've tried to make the lyrics somewhat opaque, but the meaning is there if you look for it.' The album's first single, 'Regresando' turns out to be about a refugee dreaming of home. The track 'No History', whose lyrics give the album its title, is about a person suffering the consequences of political violence; the track, one of my personal favourites, has a pop delicateness with an extended breakdown section at the end that swiftly moves into Tubby / Scientist dub territory. The bonus remix takes that several stages further into reverberating dub reggae authenticity, including what sounds like some Augustus Pablo-style melodica washes. Conger's ethereal vocal drifts in and about the mix, anchoring the song back to its more mainstream-leaning original version. 'Picture On The Wall' is downright beautiful philosophical pop, a shimmering opus that is wrought with all manner of emotional hooks and chord changes.
'Regresando' arrived in my inbox some time last year in the wake of the unexpected (and successful) return of shoegazer pop as fashioned by the likes of The XX. That inwardness and introspection, best championed by the 4AD and Factory labels back in the Eighties, is the other dominant sound on Born At Midnight, both in the reflective guitar melodies and Chloe Conger's quietly captivating vocals. Conger sounds like a less depressing Tracy Thorn at times, the same muted euphoria that made a Todd Terry-remixed Everything But The Girl such an oddly compelling blend, especially on the dancefloor-friendly remix of 'Regresando' included at the end of the album. If you imagine shoegazer pop suffused with a Mexican / Californian warmth, you might come close to the particular take on pop that The Silver Pesos have crafted for Born At Midnight.
I asked Brambl whether that strain of Eighties UK indie music was another influence on the sound of Born At Midnight. 'Definitely,' replies Brambl before going on to explain his other influences. 'I enjoy a lot of early New Wave, post-punk and ska, as well as Krautrock like Can and Neu! From a producer's point of view, the theme running through all of these influences is the evolution past blues-based rock. I love the blues, but I'm also interested in that period of time in the Eighties when people realized that many of the options had been exhausted and it was time to look for new forms.'
Born At Midnight is a brave, confident début enriched by multiple, layered influences, embellished by beautiful vocals and an absorbing sonic tapestry that the statements in the press release could undersell. This is globally-minded, yes, but first and foremost it is a perfect, intelligent and atmospheric pop album.
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