Brooklyn/Austin based, interstellar rock group Midnight Masses, a brilliant Trial of Dead spin-off we celebrated back in 2010 with this feature (which made our print issue) announced its return with sophomore album, “Departures,” released on July 22. This is an introspective, audible incarnation of loss, wonder, and longing. The group, which began as Autry Fulbright and Jason Reece of …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, came from the necessity of a creative outlet shortly after experiencing the deaths of family members and close friends, and the bereavement, emptiness and bafflement of such losses are still present in each song. Some songs will make you move in drone-beat synth, while others will move you, with spatial, helicopter-like tremolo, all while making you think about life and death, and the beyond. Midnight Masses plays Union Pool on August 20th, and Mercury Lounge on August 21st. Check them out then, and in the meantime, watch the video for “Broken Mirror,” which Fulbright refers to as “a ghostly love song.” – JP Basileo
