Midnight Rodeo Chaos Era
- Americana |
- Indie Rock |
- Psych |
- Rock
Release Date: July 11, 2025
Label: FatCat
Midnight Rodeo’s Chaos Era is a psychedelic dance riot for the ages, with songs born of long nights, shifting dreams, heartbreaks, and revelations.
With Chaos Era, Nottingham’s Midnight Rodeo gallop onto the scene with the kind of reckless and radiant energy that only comes from a band built on friendship, a love of groove, and a healthy dose of madness. What began as five buddies crossing paths on the city’s live circuit has morphed into one of the UK’s most hypnotic psych-pop collectives, and their first full-length delivers on every bit of promise their early singles and live shows hinted at.
Mixed by Claudius Mittendorfer (Temples, Parquet Courts) and mastered by John Webber (David Bowie, Ash), Chaos Era is exactly what the title suggests - a swirl of jangle, rhythm, and rave-ups filtered through West Coast psych, Krautrock repetition, and carnival synths. It's a heady brew, yet somehow never collapses under its own weight thanks in no small part to the ethereal, honeyed vocals of frontwoman Maddy Chamberlain, who glides above the chaos with effortless poise. The band's rhythm section anchors even the most unhinged tracks. The band sums it up as, “What we do is Dada-istic. The drums play hooks, the bass plays parts usually taken by brass, the guitar’s playing West Coast psyche over disco rhythms.” Somehow, it all works. And it does, wildly so.
Recorded live-to-tape in a remote Welsh studio with Samana’s Franklin Mockett during a sweltering late summer, the sessions were intense but also intoxicating. With vintage amps humming, incense burning, and whiskey flowing, the band captured their vibe over ten long, sweaty days. “We wanted to capture us as live as possible,” they explain. Mission accomplished. Chaos Era feels like a coming-of-age suite for a generation raised on contradiction, high on groove and impulse. The personal becomes communal, and the joy is unmistakable. “We want people to tap into why we’re always smiling on stage,” the band says. And on tape, that same electricity crackles through every note.