Syndicate

"Syndicate" is by and large The Midnight's darkest and most conceptual project yet. Any questions as to whether they truly are the champions of modern synthwave have been answered.

Following the release of their graphic novel "Shadows" was their announcement of a project supposedly more ambitious than any of their previous ones. And on "Syndicate", The Midnight deliver. This is a powerful album, just shy of 90 minutes, and it dictates a story so imbued with '80s synthwave tropes you might not even realise that the record represents an entirely new direction for the band. Because, let's be clear, "Syndicate" is still quite distinctly a The Midnight record. Tyler's vocal is uncompromisingly heart-rendering and his lyricism is self-aware and well-crafted, spinning familiar tales of loves won and hearts lost across a homely synthwave soundscape. The band's same penchant for emotive synthpop has clearly stayed strong over the years, accompanied by thoroughbred saxophone and guitar solos. Always there is a cameo from one, if not both, instruments, ripping up a track wherever it may desire in such a fashion that never truly gets old, and never finds itself unwelcome in a song. But there's a shark in the water. A maw of darkness, brandishing cyberpunk sensibility like glistening teeth. As "Afterglow pt. 1" fades from your ears, marking the end of what I would consider 'chapter 1' of this album, "Digital Dreams" rises to take its place, and there's a discernible shift in tone. "Syndicate", from a classic, wanderlust-infused synthpop style, plunges into a new, gritty world. The darksynth influences are no longer a ghost in the background, but now a shadow looming over "Sentinels" or "First Night In Paris", assailing the idealistic songwriting with a new contrarian force that simultaneously challenges and dominates the genre. Even if you were to argue that darkness is not necessarily new territory for this outfit, the liquid DnB of "Afterglow Pt. 2" and the weaving of ambient styles following this raging cyberpunk outburst is certainly a swing of experimentalism. This album is a fantastic showing of who The Midnight are when it comes to storytelling, but it's also a statement that they refuse to be the poster boy for nostalgia junkies - no, they're not just that; they're the racehorse of synthwave, the stallion of synth-rock, the veterans of a scene they're constantly outrunning.

"Syndicate" doesn't have the legendary status of some of The Midnight's previous works. It's their most ambitious project, and breaks a lot of expectations, so, honestly, I don't think it will ever be a classic in the synthwave genre. But I do think that this project is an integral part of their catalogue, a testament to their ever-expanding dominance over their craft. In a music ecosystem where bands fight desperately to keep their head above the water, to feel new and refreshing, The Midnight have found land from the helm of "Syndicate".