Often the main ingredient in supergroup concoctions is a set of sonic similarities between the members’ preexisting independent projects. Other times, their territories barely border on each other, and yet the chemistry between the individual players is too good to pass up. So no, we’re obviously not talking about Lulu.
Instead, it’s The Midnight Stroll, a somewhat unlikely union between Ghostland Observatory frontman Aaron Behrens and Heartless Bastards lead guitarist Jonas Wilson. The Midnight Stroll began ten years back as a strictly solo venture for Behrens while GLO was on break, but after recruiting Wilson as producer and music director, it dawned on the pair to lean on their strength as equals. Wilson’s idiosyncratic interest in analog and homemade technology helped dictate the duo’s rock sound on 2015’s Heartbreak Boogaloo and 2017’s Western Static, before Ghostland beckoned Behrens back in 2018 and Wilson took up six-string duties with the Bastards. In the six years since then, we haven’t heard a peep from The Midnight Stroll. That is…until today.
This morning Wilson and Behrens rejuvenated the jaunt with “You Can Escape” a standalone single shared by Wilson’s own Mr. Pink Records. Its simplistic percussion rhythm lays the groundwork for Wilson’s grunge-ingrained guitar, stargazing synths, and Behrens wiry, weightless vocals, all for an empowering piece of retro-style alt-rock. So if Hump Day’s got you feeling like the walls of life are closing in on you, take this three-minute break to remind yourself…you can escape.