Mainland Break - One Way Ticket to Midnight (2023)

Denver, Colorado’s Mainland Break – Evan Oliver (vocals, acoustic guitar, keys), Kevin Kohl (vocals, bass), Travis Rice (guitar, synthesizer), Ian Gassman (guitar) and Steven Hennig (drums) – play jangling indie rock (or rocking jangle pop), which they do in a pretty exciting way. After their debut EP Short Stay, they now return with their first full-length album. As its title suggests, the One Way Ticket to Midnight LP takes us “through a lonely, reflective night that recalls distant friendships, lost love, and missed opportunity” – from sundown to sunrise. The idea is good, the execution even better. The lyrics are appealing (“I’m out tonight // To bark at the moon // My hair swept back // By a Dio tune” – from the title track), but it’s the way they are declaimed – polyphonic and infectious – that makes them come alive. However, it’s the tight guitars and thumping beats – energetic and inspired – that really make this record a glorious experience.

Mainland Break presents One Way Ticket to Midnight: a jangling indie rock record that’s brimming with the propulsive energy of The Feelies and packed with chiming guitars that are evocative of R.E.M.
One Way Ticket to Midnight takes the listener through a lonely, reflective night that recalls distant friendships, lost love, and missed opportunity. It begins at sundown, with the golden nostalgia of “Calling After” and builds to the revelry of “One Way Ticket to Midnight” – set at the height of the night. The album works towards sunrise, but never realizes the dawn, and leaves the listener alone and grasping at fading memories.