Formed in Los Angeles during the mid-2000s, the synthwave duo the Midnight drew from the glossy pastel textures of 1980s pop while sharing the revivalist wave with FM-84 and the Dutch project Timecop1983. Early attention arrived with their 2016 debut album Endless Summer, after which the 2017 EP Nocturnal became a Bandcamp bestseller and later reached number 17 on Billboard’s dance/electronic chart. Subsequent releases continued the upward trajectory, as both 2018’s Kids and 2020’s Monsters entered the Top 20 of that same chart; for their 2022 album Heroes the pair expanded to a full live ensemble.
American vocalist Tyler Lyle and Danish producer Tim McEwan constitute the Midnight. The pair first connected in Hollywood in 2012 during a co-writing session, bonded by shared affection for 1980s soft rock, synth pop, and the soundtrack to the 2011 film Drive. Georgia-raised singer/songwriter Lyle, who maintains country-music affiliations, supplies the lead vocals, while L.A.-based McEwan handles production duties. From the six-track 2014 album Days of Thunder onward, their recordings combined bright, driving synth lines with electric-guitar accents and saxophone solos beneath Lyle’s clear tenor.
The 2016 full-length Endless Summer extended the same neon-nostalgic approach and, like its predecessor, later appeared in an instrumental edition. Issued in October 2017, the Nocturnal EP topped Bandcamp’s sales ranking and entered the Billboard dance/electronic chart just as the duo began performing live. Their second album, Kids, followed in 2018; influenced by Stranger Things, it leaned toward brighter energy and peaked at number 12 on the dance/electronic tally. July 2020 brought Monsters, previewed by the singles “America Online” and “Deep Blue,” which fused 1980s synth-pop motifs with Blade Runner-style atmosphere, reached number three on the dance/electronic albums chart, and entered the Billboard 200.
After the 2021 EPs Horror Show and The Rearview Mirror, the Midnight completed their trilogy with the 2022 full-band album Heroes.
