The Midnight Stroll Archives - KUT & KUTX Studios

When in Austin, you’re bound to run into some cross pollination among bands. For Austin-based duo, The Midnight Stroll, this is nothing short of the truth. Featuring the frontman of Ghostland Observatory, Aaron Behrens, and musical jack-of-all-trades, Jonas Wilson (Heartless Bastards, Urban Heat, Black Angels, and more), their latest and 3rd, upcoming single, “It Ain’t Worth a Dream”, explores the hardships of new beginnings through the eyes of an American immigrant wondering if the reality of it all is worth the cost of his dreams. What someone might not expect though is how the band expresses their sentiment through grungy shoegaze guitar hooks and Grouplove x AC/DC vocals.

After almost a decade since their second album Western Static, it’s clear to hear exactly where the duo is heading with their upcoming album, Humans Scheme and Headphones Dream, debuting next month. With a little touch of hair rock and dash of multi-track tape recorder effects, the duo’s sound sets them apart from local bands, including their other projects. But despite having to wait a bit longer for the full album, It Ain’t Worth A Dream makes its radio debut TODAY and will be available to listen to tomorrow.

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.