Cue synthwave bed / dark punk instrumental underneath
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to KJAGRadio.com, the home of the underground, the cutting edge, and the artists who don’t just make music—they build entire worlds.
Today, we’ve got a band that operates somewhere between a late-70s dystopian dream and an early-80s analog nightmare… a group that blends jagged punk aggression with icy synth textures to create something that feels like it’s beamed in from another dimension.
We’re talking about Drakulas.
Their brand-new record, “Midnight City,” dropped May 1st, and it’s not just an album—it’s a fully realized sonic universe. Think Devo meets Gary Numan, filtered through a VHS tape left out in the rain and rewound one too many times.
We sat down with the band to talk about the evolution of their world, their sound, and what makes Midnight City such a unique listening experience.
Midnight City feels like a transmission from another time and place—when you started this record, did you know exactly what world you wanted to build, or did it evolve as you went?
The world and the lore and the mythos has been evolving since we started the band, but we kinda started with a clear framework of where we wanted the space and the vibe to be. The main parameters of where things should go—and where they shouldn’t—have always been there.
The 70s metropolis vibe has expanded over time. Figuring out the characters and how far we can push things sonically while staying within our boundaries has actually been more freeing than limiting. The city itself has definitely grown… there are angles we never thought about early on that just came naturally.
There are clear influences like Devo and Gary Numan, but the record never feels like nostalgia—how do you balance inspiration with originality? And what comes first creatively—the punk or the synths?
At the end of the day, we are who we are. We’re just throwing all our influences into a blender—old and new—and mixing them with our own sensibilities.
The punk side usually comes first because we’re still relatively new to working with synths. As for the “ugly” sounds—we don’t want things to get too polished. There should be some imperfections… some warts in this world.
Let’s talk about some key tracks—“Singing With My Tongue Cut Out,” “Going Going Gone Gone,” and “White Off Your Nose.” What’s going on in those songs?
“Singing With My Tongue Cut Out” is about the struggle of trying to make it as a performer in that world—and honestly, it applies to this one too. It’s like singing to no one.
“Going Going Gone Gone” wasn’t always planned as the opener—it found its place naturally during the process.
And “White Off Your Nose”… that’s a late-night track. The subject matter kind of dictated that vibe.
This is your third full-length—where did the biggest leap forward happen for you?
Great things take time. We really let Midnight City develop over a long period. A big shift was doing a lot of the recording ourselves—taking our time, working with rough materials, and shaping everything exactly how we wanted it.
The album has this VHS-era, analog aesthetic—how intentional was that?
Very intentional. We draw a lot from 70s films and early 80s video—stuff like The Warriors, Warhol films… and glitch is a big part of our visual language too.
And finally—how should fans experience Midnight City?
Anytime. Anywhere.
Pre-coitus… coitus… post-coitus…
All the times.
Bring music back up slightly
That is Drakulas—and their brand-new album “Midnight City” is available right now.
If you’re looking for something that breaks the mold… something that doesn’t just sound different, but feels like an entirely different world—this is the record for you.
Turn the lights down. Put the headphones on. Let the static creep in… and take a trip into Midnight City.
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Midnight City, the new album from Austin’s Drakulas, out May 1, 2026. Featuring members of Rise Against and Riverboat Gamblers, it’s a synth-punk / new wave burner with shades of Devo, Gary Numan, and LCD Soundsystem — weird, wired, and built for late-night repeat listens. Full press release, stream, and downloads are below. Would love it if you’d consider sharing with your audience. -Chad
This is an advance for your consideration—reviews are welcome anytime, but please hold off on sharing links or content until release day.
Austin Scene Veterans DRAKULAS Return With Synth-Soaked LP Midnight City
New Album Midnight City Releases May 1, 2026
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Public Stream Album May 1, 2026
PRESS ONLY: Download Album / Art / Photos
Key Tracks: Singing With My Tongue Cut Out / Going Going Gone Gone / White Off Your Nose (No Explicit Language)
Genre Tags: Synth Punk, Indie, New Wave
RIYL: Devo, The Spits, Traams, Heavy Times, LCD Soundsystem, Gary Numan, Killing Joke
Austin, Texas synth-punk lifers Drakulas return with Midnight City, their third full-length, out May 1 via Dirtnap Records (Wild Honey Records in Europe/UK). Built from proto-punk grit, garage rock urgency, and the synthetic pulse of early new wave, the record pulls from the worlds of Devo, Gary Numan, Grauzone, Kraftwerk, and the weirder edges of Neue Deutsche Welle, landing in a tight, off-kilter pocket where jagged guitars and cold synth lines push against each other without ever settling. It plays like a lost transmission from a strip mall arcade in 1982. Not nostalgia, not revival, more like something unearthed and reassembled, flickering but fully alive.
Formed by Savage Lord Mic, Sam Francisco, and Pink Rick, with members of Riverboat Gamblers and Rise Against, Drakulas began as a conceptual project but quickly took on a life of its own. The band operates inside a fictionalized late-70s metropolis, a stylized world built from analog textures, early video-era aesthetics, and a long-running interest in character-driven songwriting. Over time, that concept has sharpened into something more cohesive, less of a backdrop and more of a system the band fully inhabits.
After a few years away, Midnight City marks a clear step forward. The songs feel more connected, the pacing more deliberate, and the overall arc more immersive without losing immediacy. “Going Going Gone Gone” sets the tone early, balancing tension and release with a sense of height and risk, while “White Off Your Nose” leans into a darker, late-night pull. At the center, “Singin’ With My Tongue Cut Out” strips things down to something direct and performative, equal parts wired and unhinged. The band’s approach to sound remains rooted in imperfection as a choice, not a limitation. As they put it, “We Drakulas continue to evolve our sonic mastery of lo-fi instrumentation. Midnight City is the result of a dirty basement, menthol cigarettes and the warm glow of a cathode ray TV. We spilled kerosene on the keyboards to make them sound uglier. Not for squares.” That philosophy runs throughout the record, shaping a sound that feels tactile and immediate without losing focus.
Order Drakulas’ Music and Merchandise
Across Midnight City, Drakulas move comfortably between raw punk energy and synthetic restraint, drawing from a lineage that includes The Spits, Traams, Heavy Times, LCD Soundsystem, and Killing Joke as much as the colder, more minimal traditions of European new wave. The result is a record that feels deliberate and cohesive, built as much on mood and pacing as it is on hooks.
There’s a subtle visual language running alongside it all. Neon glow, analog bleed, the low hum of machines that never fully shut off. Hints of late-night arcades, worn-out screens, and that familiar sense of time slipping somewhere between night and morning. It never takes over, but it’s always there. What started as an experiment is now a fully realized lane. Drakulas aren’t orbiting their other projects anymore, they’ve carved out their own space, with a sound and identity that continues to sharpen with each release. Midnight City is their most complete statement yet. Focused, strange, and fully committed to its own logic. The signal is clearer now, but the world it’s coming from is still just out of reach.
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