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Review

Midnight Rodeo is one of the newer acts from the famed indie label FatCat Records (Animal Collective, Sigur Ros, etc). They released a few singles back in 2022/23 and then made their grand return with this album, dubbed "Chaos Era". If you were looking for a sound to match that title you won't find it here, instead you'll find a clean indie rock group with some country influence and a healthy amount of reverb. Although you shouldn't miscontrue it, their sound isn't run of the mill. There maybe other indie acts out there doing what they are, but with a lot of them it sort of feels like they're mostly just going through the motions, Midnight Rodeo is living this sound. Everything from their plucky lyrics about overzealous ship captains to their even more feisty videos, featuring scantaly clad cowboys and forrest animals rising up against a hunter. Their lyrics aren't the tightest, some lines definitely came off as clunky, but the lyrics aren't the main appeal of an act like this, they're here to give you a good time and a good vibe. And that's something that the music definitely acomplishes. Although there could have been a few more risks taken on that front, over time the less adaptive songs fall by the wayside and all blend together in your head. They don't fall victim to monotony often though because they mix up their sound enough to keep you mostly engaged.

Something I thought was a great example of how they could keep their sound while adding that extra bit of spice was the drums on 'El Medina'. They're reminiscent of Paul Simon's 'Graceland' I just wish they were more up front than they are. The standouts here are definitely the singles, 'Dixon' and 'Cleanshirt'. 'Daisy' was also a single but I don't think it's as essential. 'Cleanshirt' definitely has the most "hit potential" as it has one of the catchiest hooks on the album, and just that certain je ne sais quoi that hits with a song like this. This album does span a good 45 minutes which personally I think could have shortened to a cool 40 or 35, because near the end it starts to drag on, not to mention that they put one of the slowest tracks, 'Buggin' Out' second to last. I think this act still has some work to do to really bring something tighter and fresher to the table, but they have the potential to be the next indie darlings if they refine. They certainly already have the look, whoever's making their music videos knows what's up. Overall, the album is a good entry into the pantheon of indie rock but nothing groundbreaking yet, the potential is clearly there but with tighter execution it could be brought to the next level.