Photo by Stevan Alcala
Speaking about his new album with the Midnight Stroll, singer Aaron Behrens says, “the experimental technique we used is called trusting your guts.” It’s safe to say the Austinite has been doing just that for decades. He fronted the wildly inventive Ghostland Observatory for years before shifting over to the Midnight Stroll, a onetime solo project that’s now a full-time collaboration with Jonas Wilson and a stack of analog loops and gear. The throughline has been Behrens’ guts, which favor a gutsy blend of electronic sizzle, glam rock flash, and punk intensity.
Western Static, the Midnight Stroll’s second album, lets a lot of good weirdness in. On “City Lights,” the band even tries its hand at a country song, but a demented one at that. Slide guitars mix with a steady beat and Behrens’ droll voice, sounding like a lost soundtrack to a Twin Peaks episode. It’s some strange terrain, but all the better to get lost in.
“City Lights” appears on Western Static, out now. The Midnight Stroll plays Sound On Sound Fest on Sunday, November 12.
–Art Levy // host, Sunday 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., producer, My KUTX
