Back in May, New York’s MIDNIGHTCHOIR (the solo project of Brooklyn’s Patrick Bobilin, sometimes assisted by Sarah Simon) announced his first new record in 7 years, and those were indeed a pretty eventful 7 years, such that we wondered if he’d return to making music at all. Inspired by his time running for office in his home state, campaigning for social justice and also being arrested twice as a result of the latter (during the 2020 protests following the murder of George Floyd), the 10-track album arrives with considerable weight.
Ahead of its release tomorrow, Bobilin’s sharing the closing track from the record, ‘Rising Tide’, inspired by nationwide waves of anti-LGBTQ sentiment (sadly even more relevant now than when he wrote it) and the struggle for progress in the face of bigotry. ‘There’s gotta be a better way to end this story,’ indeed. On the album as a whole, Bobilin had this to say: “I pray that Loverboy Molotov is relevant to these dark and challenging times. We’re going to need solidarity and action, we’re going to need to dance, and we’re going to need to keep moving if we want to survive against staggering odds. The songs on Loverboy Molotov and the ones to come are more than a reaction. They’re an attempt to reconcile conflicts and they’ve inspired me to point my compass toward hope. The album is a success if listeners feel the same.”
We’re premiering ‘Rising Tide’ below. New Yorkers: MIDNIGHTCHOIR (Bobilin and Simon) host an album listening party at The Library on Avenue A tomorrow night.
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