Lizzy Borden – My Midnight Things (Metal Blade)
Thursday, 14th June 2018
Waiting out the changing music industry consumption models during the past decade where streaming and digital music have become the norm, Lizzy Borden finally issues his first studio album in 11 years with My Midnight Things. It’s not like his catalog hasn’t received its just rewards – new generations clamoring to those pioneering 80’s efforts, in turn fueling Lizzy Borden for more extensive worldwide touring. It shouldn’t come as a surprise then that Lizzy wanted to put out a new record that reflects many of his early childhood influences – making this effort an amalgamation of his glamorous/ glitter rock affinities beyond his normal hard rock/metal outlook.
The guitar crescendo that pours forth from the title track sets the stage for a bevy of vocal harmonies and church organ strains, the main hook hypnotic in that Alice Cooper/T-Rex mold, if given a bit more girth in the electricity to keep things metal. Throughout the ten tracks (nine unique songs and a title track, dark interpretation reprise near the back half of the record) it’s evident that drummer Joey Scott keeps the tempos steady and groovy, while the layers of vocals set up a mystique and emotional variety that rears back into Queen territory. Lizzy has the right ear for phrasing, catching the listener through “Obsessed with You” and mysterious/distant head turner “The Perfect Poison” from lower register activity through his higher octane harmony action. Many have already expressed a bit of apprehension to the throwback tempo and sugary sweet riff/vocal interplay for “Long May They Haunt Us”, which also comes up with the keyboard underpinning and 60’s style drum parts for “Run Away with Me” – the chorus very repetitive in a soothing, Beatles-style comfort zone.
Relatively short at 41 minutes, My Midnight Things sees Lizzy and the boys churning out what they desire rather than chasing any specific trends in the metal/hard rock realm – commendable in a day and age where it should be about the musicians and unleashing their creative desires. Does this make it the best Lizzy Borden record to date? Probably not (that goes to Visual Lies according to this scribe), but it’s definitely addictive and strong enough to satiate the legions of Lizzy Borden followers that are growing by the day.
