Six years after the quite satisfactory “Hidden City” here comes the eleventh album of the guys from West Yorkshire. “Under The Midnight Sun” may be short in duration – thirty-five minutes and consisted of eight tracks – but Astbury and Duffy are in such top form that the result is more than excellent.
This is a classic The Cult album in which we will find all the essential elements of the band that clearly leaves its mark on every aspect of the record. I would even say that there is also a tendency to return to their earlier forms with a slightly more gothic atmosphere than the last 4-5 releases of the band. “Mirror”, “Give Me Mercy” and “Outer Heaven” prove the previous argument, as well as the title track that closes the album. The whole album, however – and perhaps its short length helps in that- is a perfectly cohesive set of very good songs.
I shouldn’t fail to make a special mention of the production by Tom Dalgety who is also involved in the songwriting process on four songs as well as in the recording of keyboards and some guitar parts. His contribution to the record is truly catalytic. I really don’t think that “Under The Midnight Sun” will disappoint those who have been following the band for all these years. Personally, I was not and I deeply congratulate The Cult for this album.
The essence of this record is that Astbury and Duffy keep the band at a very high quality standard without allowing anything to dilute even a tiny bit of all those things that made the Cult what they are for forty years now and of course their star is up high…under the midnight sun!
