I Think Like Midnight is an instrumental rock band formed by longtime devotees of the lost art of the succinct rock instrumental. Begun as a recording project, guitarist/songwriter Andrew Chalfen (The Trolleyvox, The Wishniaks, Gimme) and drummer Dean Clean Sabatino (The Dead Milkmen, Baby Flamehead) were so pleased with the results that they decided to release the material and put together a full band, recruiting bassist Josh Newman (American Altitude, The Silver Ages, Heyward Howkins Band) and in 2021, new keyboardist Aleksandr Yāker (Room Tone, Static Shapes).
ITLM’s debut “Warm Seclusion Structure” (a term coined by the National Weather Service) was released in December 2014, surprisingly winning the praise of their instrumental heroes Pell Mell. The band has since honed their live sound, focusing on new material with forays into songwriting collaboration. The band recorded their new album over 2016-17 at Miner Street Recordings in Philadelphia with engineer Brian McTear (The War on Drugs, Kurt Vile, Waxahatchee, Sharon Van Etten) with additional recording by Chalfen at Trolleyvox Recording, with mixing by McTear and young upstart engineering genius Brendan Monahan.
"This Land Is Your Mind," is robust, expansive, deeply groovy, and definitely road-trip worthy. Highlights include the opener “Daychord,” a big sky driving opus with exultant melodic and sparkling nods to popsters like The Chills, the Krautrock-inflected Surf coolness of “Tuned Mass Damper,” and the epic closer “Miner Pocket Draft Gear,” which deftly mines both Television-like meters and pastoral psychedelic space rock. Lovers of the above-mentioned bands, as well as Yo La Tengo, Spoon, Luna, and The Sea and Cake will feel right at home.
ITLM followed up with the 4-song “Kompromat EP” (released in late 2018 on Wilbur Records), a kind of introduction to the band’s stylistic breadth, from the electronica of “Kompromat” to the psychedelic surf punk of “Daydream Pusher,” to the big sky twang of “Time to Walt,” to the acoustic folk-blip (I just made that up!) of “Ghost Loads.”
Come Spring 2020, the band had just begun recording their third full-length album of rockin' instrumental goodness when the pandemic hit. Though that record has been put on hold until the post-plague eventuality, ITLM had an ace up their sleeves, for during the past five years they have been quietly assembling recorded compositions using a very different process than their usual learn-it-as-a-live-band method. Composed "in the box” (on computer) and with various digital tools at their disposal, they often began with rhythm loops and then tracked improvisations of guitar, keyboard, strange ambient texture apps, all of which they then cut up and reassembled into coherent compositions. The ear worm melodies and general vibe is still very much ITLM, but as groovy electronica, a electronic-meets-guitar hybrid that travels through landscapes ambient, drone, blip, motorik, indie rock, and even a bit of their trademark twang.
The band continued to play shows during the pandemic, often outdoors, and welcomed new keyboardist Aleksandr Yāker into the fold. Summer 2022 sees the band again in the recording studio for their much-delayed rock album with engineer Jeff Zeigler at Uniform Recording.
“Huge respect and props and everything else i can give to ITLMband, who is some of the backing music for this piece and so many others over the years on The Takeaway. a brilliant musical mind that inspires us.” - Jay Cowit, The Takeaway, Public Radio International, NPR.
Reviews for Interim Contingent:
“Soaring psychedelic instrumentals to minimal electronic musings…exploring ambient pop and Krautrock tones and textures, and even an unexpected dusty cowboy song (“Head Illuminator”) at the mid-way point. John Vettese, WXPN [link]
“Cinematic and unique with enough obscure tips of the hat in the mix to keep music geeks searching for references…leans heavily towards loops of electronics as the basis and as a result makes a really compelling argument for the band to work more in this arena...breathtaking and reverbby. This is a record any instrumental rock band should check out. Brilliant release. Time To Play B-Sides [link]
“A little more electronic, in a way that feels equally ethereal and hyper-real. Trippy-yet-hopeful. Yet it is still guitar-focused electronic, which is a blend I have never really heard pulled off successfully until now… I’m suspicious of any music I love the first time through, but this album consistently surprises and delights with every listen… takes on its own dreamy quality throughout. It twangs. It jangles. Bold-yet-mystical…The infusion of more electronic sounds adds a welcome, distinctive quality to I Think Like Midnight without losing any of the band’s essence that made its previous work some of my favorite music.” LSTRBLOG [link]
Reviews for This Land Is Your Mind:
“A binge-worthy stream of bright sounds: a little surf, some earthy/folky parts, lots of beats and melodies to get lost in. I Think Like Midnight’s got guitars for days, but the chiming keyboards and groovy bass are the secret stars.” Pat Rapa, Philadelphia Magazine [link]
"an explosive psychedelic journey. No doubt, most music obsessives (particularly in 2018) have listening habits that span the entire musical spectrum, but to hear so many sounds executed so truly in one place is exciting." John Vettese, WXPN/The Key Sessions [link]
" jam-packed with shimmering and often deliciously psychedelic guitar-driven soundtracks to road-trips way out West of Weirdsville – real or imagined." PopLib [link]
"There are so many good songs on the latest album" iHeartRADIO [link]
"This one is a must-have. Get it now." LAMusicCritic [link]