by Derric Miller
— Managing Editor —
Seems like the world is a pretty bleak place right now; you don’t even have to brush the bloody cobwebs aside to see it everywhere you look. Sometimes, you just want to be distracted from that darkness and think of happier, more carefree and rockin’ times. Wouldn’t you know it, here comes Midnite City with their sophomore effort There Goes the Neighbourhood, and it brings you back to shiny days of summer, chicks and dudes, great times and some heartbreak. In short, feel good music in some feel aghast times …
If you wonder what kind of music influences the band, hit play. The album opens with the dishwashing audio scene from Poison’s video from “Nothin’ but a Good Time” before the opening track “Here Comes the Party” kicks in. This is one of the heavier tracks on the release, a grooving, sexual composition. If you’ve been a fan of Rob Wylde since his time in Teenage Casket Company, Sins of America, TigerTailz etc. you hear he keeps improving as a vocalist on every release. He’s getting close to Ted Poley land, which is about as big a compliment you can give a singer in this genre. Everything rips on this song … and it’s just the first one.
“Give Me Love” sounds like a video you’d see on MTV back when they played videos, highlights the rock keys from Shawn Charvette and also proves one of the band’s greatest strengths–backing vocals. There are few bands out there who have this many strong singers together in a group. Drummer Pete Newdeck can also carry lead vocals, so you can imagine how these guys sound live.
“You Don’t Understand Me” is a more mid-tempo rocker, one for the lighters and the ladies, and again, it has a strong Danger Danger vibe to it. There’s a lot of poignancy dripping from Wylde’s vocals when he sings, “You don’t understand me … I don’t know myself, these days …”
You may hear guitar echoes of Vinnie Vincent Invasion’s “That Time of Year” on the track “Tonight You’re All I Need.” This is another composition punctuated by clean keys and those incredible backing vocals.
There are a few songs that lean close to the classic power ballad, namely “Hard to Get Over” and “Heaven’s Falling,” but Midnite City is at their best when they are rockin’ your fool head off like on the closer, “Until the End.” This one opens with some fist-pumping “Nah nah nahs,” razor riffing and again, a sensual groove from the rhythm section. It’s also one of the most uplifting songs on the release, sort of a “hell or high water we can make it through anything if we do it together.” Crank the hell out of it, sing along, and just enjoy Midnite City at their best.
There Goes the Neighbourhood is the right album at the right time. If you are into Hard Rock, into feel-good anthems from a band that seemingly does everything right, turn off the damnable cable news, don’t read politics, put on a mullet wig if you have lost your luscious locks, bang your head and lose yourself in the kind of music that can replace your Xanax addiction–way healthier too.
Genre: Hard Rock
Band:
Rob Wylde – Lead Vocals & Guitar
Pete Newdeck – Drums & Backing Vocals
Miles Meakin – Lead Guitar & Backing Vocals
Shawn Charvette – Keyboards & Backing Vocals
Josh ‘Tabbie’ Williams – Bass & Backing Vocals
Tracklisting:
01. Here Comes The Party
02. Give Me Love
03. You Don’t Understand
04. Life Ain’t Like This On The Radio
05. We’re Gonna Make It
06. Tonight You’re All I Need
07. Hard To Get Over
08. Takes One To Know One
09. Heaven’s Falling
10. Gave Up Giving Up
11. Until The End
Label: AOR Heaven
Online:
https://www.facebook.com/midnitecityuk
Hardrock Haven rating: 
(8.8 / 10)
