NEPA Scene Staff

NYC dark pop duo Weeknight to play Saturday, May 2 at The Other Side in Wilkes-Barre

NYC dark pop duo Weeknight to play Saturday, May 2 at The Other Side in Wilkes-Barre
Decrease Font Size Increase Font Size Text Size Print This Page

From a press release:

New York City dark pop duo Weeknight will spend the weekend in NEPA, playing Saturday, May 2 at The Other Side in Wilkes-Barre.

The 21+ show, presented by Wilkes-Barre arts and entertainment collective Get Cryptic, will start at 9 p.m. and cost $5. The bill also includes local openers Mock Sun, Terraformer, and DJ Little.Plastic.Raleigh.

Comprised of Andy Simmons and Holly MacGibbon, Weeknight create the sort of languid, obfuscous pop that swirls slightly menacingly through your eardrums. The interlocking male-female vocals contain both beauty and enigmatic characteristics, the crackling guitar lines and otherworldly lyrics elevate Weeknight above many of their synth-led contemporaries. Whilst it’s clearly lacking big budget production, the Depeche Mode vibes are prominent throughout, as are the loosely scattered shoegaze percussion sections.

Weeknight’s debut album, “Post-Everything,” on Artificial Records/Hand Drawn Dracula curates an eerie vibe. Analog and electric creep together seamlessly on their debut album, bringing together hard beats with a soft touch. Weeknight hops between genres effortlessly, creating an evocative mystique with lingering vocals and plucked solos. Truly mastering the ability to mix, Weeknight delivers a glorious phantasm to lose yourself in. Static synth lines bubble between the knocking beat of the drum, nudging you into an ephemeral trance. 



With “Post-Everything,” Weeknight delivers a myriad of stellar tracks that fully flesh out their soundscape. “Sound of My Voice” bumps a steady drumbeat, merging it with a healthy dose of synth and bass. The crescendo in its wailing solo bears a thematic similarity to Weeknight’s other dark tracks. “Tonight,” with its running rhythm and synth, gives a compelling pop to its beat. “Honey” sweetly draws the listener in with another catchy synth-driven hook, an art that Weeknight has mastered so effectively. With every track on this record, Weeknight truly pushes the envelope, bringing audiences a dreamlike atmosphere.

Titling a first album “Post-Everything” smacks of irony. In the case of Brooklyn’s Weeknight, though, the name works earnestly for their emotionally weighty debut. Throughout the album, Simmons and MacGibbon come dangerously close to being just another group wandering the melancholy world of bands like The xx and Chromatics. What sets “Post-Everything” apart, however, is the grittiness that flecks the sadness, the little touches that make the album’s heavy emotions sting a bit more.

The opener, “Hallowed Ground,” is just one example of the album’s tasteful minimalism. It’s a compelling texture, though many of these sounds–synths ripped from the ’80s, drum beats that echo for miles, are familiar, and the pair’s gentle harmonies, while pleasant, may seem lacking in personality.

But there’s a unique edge to the album, present in the ghost-like noises that kick off “Tonight” and the fuzz that interrupts the bright synth arpeggios of “I’m The Beaches.” It’s an album unafraid to deal in dark moments; Lucifer himself even shows up on “Devil.”

Overall, though, the album’s darkness is doled out slowly and covered in a syrupy pop sheen. While “Post-Everything” may not be as apocalyptic as its title suggests, it’s emotionally penetrating, the soundtrack to a late-night, post-breakup drive. In recent years, the group has toured and worked with like-minded artists such as Phantogram, Com Truise, Bear in Heaven, Young Magic, and School of Seven Bells.

The duo will be releasing a new cassette single this spring.