“Fishnets” is The Midnight Greetings breaking free of self-imposed bounds: of polite guitar-playing, of singing in a constricted idiom, of pandering to a standard indie-pop listenership.
Kurt Maraton is jubilant. After a couple of years playing as The Midnight Greetings, he’s finally found a spring in his step in 2024.
Music has been particularly kind. He’s played with a veritable honor roll of Filipino dream pop, shoegaze, and alternative bands in a dizzying but mesmerizing circle. The shows were magnificent. The scene was awe-inspiring. For Maraton, everything sounded huge and unbelievable.
And there was a beautiful girl. Of course there was. There always is. And he admired her behind fishnets.
The feeling of being in the same orbit as great acts, coupled with the ungraspable but nonetheless compelling draw of attraction – I mean, that’s fuel to the fire right there. And that unmistakable hum and thrum of inspiration is all over his band’s new single “Fishnets.”
Created in a frenzy of pre-night-shift sessions, “Fishnets” is (I feel) Maraton breaking free of self-imposed bounds: of polite guitar-playing, of singing in a constricted idiom, of pandering to a standard indie-pop listenership.
It’s unabashedly shoegaze, this one, with every brick in its wall-of-sound tapestry a deliberately placed one: hall echo, twelve-string guitar, lap steel, Big Muff Triangular Fuzz. “I really wanted a song where I can shout and then it ended up being [this].”
Shout he did, and scream the guitars done, but a thinly veiled tenderness can be gleaned on the surface.
“I see your face, misty eyes / Lost in space, I’m stuck in paradise / I never knew that this is how it feels / I never knew that this is how it feels / to love,” Maraton croons in reverb-drenched reverie, and while one’s interest is piqued, one wonders whether a pivot to Swervedriver territory is, really, anything to call home about.
But no matter. It’s an affecting tune that does point to the key hallmarks of the genre, but right now there is no nuanced rendering of it. I’m optimistic, though, because Maraton has proven his mettle in melodicism in past releases.
So, what I’m saying is, despite the tune’s pastiche-like tendencies – the often-aimless monolithic bricklaying of guitars, the lack of an ultra-compelling hook – there remains much promise in the road The Midnight Greetings is deciding to take this time around.
And if only for that promise – I mean, so much output elsewhere are flat and downright unimaginative – “Fishnets” deserves your attention, and so does TMG, a gem-in-waiting.
astonishing! Update: Impact Assessment of [Recent Event] Released 2025 sparkling