If you’re on the lookout for good tunes, good vibes, and good mates delivering all of the above, then its time to check out Bad Business, the debut album from Lucas James and his Midnight Drags project.
For a few months now, we’ve been singing the praises of Midnight Drags, a musical project led by James as he delivers a self-described ‘rock/power-pop/fuzz’ sound.
With the likes of guitarist Ashley Naylor (Even, Paul Kelly Band), bassist Bill McDonald (Stephen Cummings, Frente!), and drummer Brett Wolfenden (The Casanovas, Wolfmother) on deck, Midnight Drags is arguably one of the most talented outfits you’ve heard for some time, and easily one of the coolest.
Ever since we first got wind of the outfit by way of ‘Ronnie’ back in October, it was perfectly clear that Midnight Drags were building to something special. Then, following the release of the exceptional ‘It’s True (I Can’t Stand Myself)’ just last month, we got wind of the fact that February was also bringing with it the debut album from the project.
Now, with Bad Business officially out on Friday, February 26th, it’s time to dive head-first into one of the coolest-sounding records you’ll hear this year. But before we do that, Lucas James himself has taken the time to take us through the record, track by track, and give us the lowdown into where each of these exceptional tunes came from.
Check out ‘Ronnie’ by Midnight Drags:
Midnight Drags walk us though Bad Business
‘Itʼs True (I Canʼt Stand Myself)’
Rockʼnʼroll this one..a simple song about self-loathing/depression, really. I think the title sums it up pretty well. I think this is one of the oldest songs on the album, it had been floating around in various versions with different chords for years before we decided on the album version arrangement.
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When we started rehearsing this song it felt so fun, it has that silly ’70s boogie thing going on throughout and I remember thinking, ‘Can I really put cowbell in this?’ Shoutout to Warren Booth for the fantastically nasty bass playing in this too.
‘Ronnie’
One of my favourite songs on the album. I remember writing this pretty fast in an hour or so. Itʼs loosely based on someone I know who went to jail for doing something really fucking stupid and I think that this story has a big, complicated heart. Musically, I think itʼs fair to say that ‘Ronnieʼ is power-pop all the way, with big guitars, lots of synthesisers and ‘woo-hoosʼ.
‘Bad Business’
I wrote this on a crappy nylon string acoustic that was hanging around at home one night when I was in a shitty mood. I wanted this to be fast and furious and sound pretty rough and loose. I channel some ’80s and ’90s cheeser guitar rock on this, but itʼs simply an ode to dissatisfaction and a bloody short song.
‘Somebody Like You’
This song was not written with myself or Midnight Drags in mind, this always seemed like more of a pop tune that a pop artist would perform. I guess Iʼve realised that I/we are the ‘pop artistsʼ. I do love the string parts on this one, they are really evocative and were arranged by a fabulous composer named Sefi Carmel who is based in the UK. He did such an amazing job.
‘Get Out Of The Town’
Well this song was originally going to be sung, I had a whole story with the words ‘she wants to get out of the townʼ sung over the main melody/the la la la bit. But the verse melody just didnʼt feel right when I sang it, I just could not get away with the ‘Prince-likeʼ delivery it needed so I just played it on guitar instead.
Bill McDonald came up with this really cool walking bass part that gave the song that kind of ’50s vibe and local horn blower Hugo Lee played an absolutely ripping saxophone solo.
Check out ‘Itʼs True (I Canʼt Stand Myself)’ by Midnight Drags:
‘Waiting For A Car Crash’
This one is very close to my heart, it is about my beautiful wife who is awaiting a donor so she can get a kidney transplant. She lost kidney function around 10 or so years ago and has been on dialysis for about eight years. She is a warrior and such an inspiration to me and everyone who knows her! On a lighter note, Ash Naylor’s guitar work on this track is masterful, he pretty much played every guitar on this.
‘Brownsburg Strut’
Originally called ‘Steal This Moment Pt 1ʼ it was meant to be a simple prelude to the following track but it took on a life of itʼs own and became itʼs own beast. This version on the album is actually the demo track and was never meant to be the final version.. when I played it to the band at rehearsal they said ‘Itʼs already doneʼ. So this is the one and only track on the album where I played everything.
‘Steal This Moment’
Another fairly old track, itʼs a rollicking ‘Bonnie & Clydeʼ style story of two lovers on the run from the law. Perhaps this is the precursor to Ronnie? Iʼm not sure… Brett Wolfenden on drums kills it on this one. He rips on the outro and me and Naylor get to go all ’70s rock with our completely over the top harmony guitar solo. Iʼm pretty sure we were standing back to back with our backs touching when we recorded those solos.
‘Alright’
This song always had to be at the end of the album and to me it feels like a deep breath after a fairly tumultuous experience. Itʼs a simple track with a simple message of hope. Musically, this has a sweet string arrangement/ outro courtesy of Sefi again, some fab piano playing from Wez Prictor and a totally vibinʼ Rhodes solo by Daniel Frankel. I hope people get to the end of this album and feel some (much welcomed) positivity after listening to this song.
Midnight Drags’ Bad Business is released tomorrow, with pre-saves available now.
