midnight at the black nailpolish factory
‘Take apart the name. Come on, it isn’t hard now.
This band’s name is a proverbial tilting of the hat to the legendary front man of the Kinks, Ray Davies. (Perhaps a previous full-length, “Return of the Drunk Ventriloquist,” is also named in homage of Davies’ first solo album, “Return to Waterloo,” but that may be a bit of a stretch.)
Musically, this is a mod rewrite of the British Invasion, done Texas style. It’s a little slower and a bit more passive, but not to be messed with. The 60’s garage rock feel comes in waves over this album, though, washing out the Britpop feel at some points, and complementing it perfectly at others.
When the band started, it was a totalitarian regime of creativity, at first with John Dufilho, the one mere member, and later moving on to a group of yes-men style backing instrumentalists. Around the time of the creation of “Midnight,” the band lineup solidified and the governmental switch was made to socialism, where each member contributes carries his or her own weight.
The result is noticeable. The songs are a bit slower, the mix is more consistent, the synthesized sounds are more functional, and on the whole, the music is tighter. DRD did not sacrifice any quality, tongue-in-cheek wit, or accessibility by making this switch, though.
In a few words, “Midnight” is less rock and more quality than before.
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