[rating=6.00]
Midnight North’s Under The Lights is, like the work of many a fledgling artist, a step ahead in the process of assimilating their influences en route to conceiving a personal voice and style. As transparently imitative as is much of the album (right from its cover image hearkening to Eagles’ One of these Nights), with this third record of theirs, the group has least planted seeds for its own originality, if nurtured properly.
Hearing the title tune here, among others, it’s also hard not to miss the similarity to the aforementioned iconic California country rockers from California, particularly in their early days. The latter-day Byrds’ “Old Blue” echoes inside “Little Black Dog,” too and while Midnight North might seem to be hedging their bets toward the contemporary country marketplace, when the lissome voice of ElliotPeck fronts the horn arrangement punctuating “Playin’ A Poor Hand Well,” they display a healthy willingness to experiment.
“Greene County” calls for even more direct comparison to Linda Ronstadt’s best work in the Seventies. That avenue, of course, presumes more prevalent lead singing from Peck–titular leader Grahame Lesh’s voice immediately recalls his father Phil’s when he sings lead–as well as more numerous (and selective) choices of outside material to supplement the band’s self-composed material. “Everyday” for instance, is a somewhat artless number, at least in terms of its lyrics, begging the question of whether all the words need to be printed (in such minuscule font) inside the CD digi-pak. Fortunately, there are moments like those of “Roamin’” that fully compensate via fulsome vocal harmonies.
Midnight North might well emphasize their natural singing skills and, in doing so, highlight the trade-off of male and female voices more often. Such transitions add drama to performances like that of the sprightly “Back to California,” and such contrast would also amplify the quartet’s instrumental skills; as “One Night Stand” and “The Highway Song,” for instance, might be enhanced by some extended improvisations when they enlist the assistance of percussionist Alex Koford.
Still, the group deserves credit for their wise decision to render these eleven tracks with such economy by collaborating with recording engineer David Simon-Baker. A more assertive and diversified approach might allow Midnight North to confront their greatest challenge, that is, which of the many directions they will pursue as they continue to evolve.
