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LA's Midnight Movies contented themselves with deadpan post-punk minimalism on their early singles, but Nights pulls the curtains wide open to present widescreen Technicolor rock action. The record opens and closes with a histrionic cover of the Moody Blues' renaissance-fair chestnut "Nights In White Satin" (the second version is sung in French). Complete with time changes, backup singers on the chorus, and woodwind interlude, the tune does the original justice while proving the band can afford to drop serious cash for studio time. The Movies have received quite a few Doors comparisons, but although there's a definite '60s-throwback vibe going on, the originals contained here sound more like a glammed-up Murder City Devils fronted by Nico, all fuzz-flattened guitars and pounding drums roiling under Gena Olivier's airy vocals. The stomping punk arabesque "Should Have Known" flirts with radio-rock accessibility, but piles on enough Kevin Shields-y production value to keep things interesting. The EP is rounded out with two useless remixes, of the "club beats make every song better" variety, courtesy of Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner and ex-Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha. Surprise, surprise: guitar players make shitty remixes.

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Midnight Movies Official
"Persimmon Tree" (QT)

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This is the CD you get your dad for his birthday because Van Morrison is a great artist from "his" generation (you're pretty sure, anyway-they're both old), he's relevant today because he still gets played on oldies radio and over the credits of romantic comedies, and the cover actually looks kind of cool, all sort of metallic-y blue with the artist making a "don't give me any shit" face which makes him look exactly like Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now, so after Mom's cleared the cake and ice cream you hand it to him with a casual shrug and he unwraps it, smiles in a way you can't be sure isn't forced, gives you a warm hug, and a few months later when you're rummaging around in his car for a tire pressure gauge you find it stuffed in the glove compartment, still in its shrinkwrap.

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Sample the record at Morrison's Web site