{"id":40129,"date":"2026-05-05T13:24:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T18:24:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kjagradio.com\/themic\/?p=40129"},"modified":"2026-05-05T13:24:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T18:24:12","slug":"austin-scene-veterans-drakulas-return-with-synth-soaked-lp-midnight-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kjagradio.com\/themic\/austin-scene-veterans-drakulas-return-with-synth-soaked-lp-midnight-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Austin Scene Veterans DRAKULAS Return With Synth-Soaked LP Midnight City"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Cue synthwave bed \/ dark punk instrumental underneath<\/em><\/p>\n

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to KJAGRadio.com<\/strong>, the home of the underground, the cutting edge, and the artists who don\u2019t just make music\u2014they build entire worlds.<\/p>\n

Today, we\u2019ve got a band that operates somewhere between a late-70s dystopian dream and an early-80s analog nightmare\u2026 a group that blends jagged punk aggression with icy synth textures to create something that feels like it\u2019s beamed in from another dimension.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re talking about Drakulas<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Their brand-new record, \u201cMidnight City,\u201d<\/strong> dropped May 1st, and it\u2019s not just an album\u2014it\u2019s a fully realized sonic universe. Think Devo meets Gary Numan<\/strong>, filtered through a VHS tape left out in the rain and rewound one too many times.<\/p>\n

We sat down with the band to talk about the evolution of their world, their sound, and what makes Midnight City<\/em> such a unique listening experience.<\/p>\n

🎙️ Q:<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Midnight City feels like a transmission from another time and place\u2014when you started this record, did you know exactly what world you wanted to build, or did it evolve as you went?<\/em><\/p>\n

🎤 DRAKULAS:<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

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\u2014and where they shouldn\u2019t\u2014have always been there.<\/p>\n

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\u2026 there are angles we never thought about early on that just came naturally.<\/p>\n

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🎙️ Q:<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

There are clear influences like Devo and Gary Numan, but the record never feels like nostalgia\u2014how do you balance inspiration with originality? And what comes first creatively\u2014the punk or the synths?<\/em><\/p>\n

🎤 DRAKULAS:<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

At the end of the day, we are who we are. We\u2019re just throwing all our influences into a blender\u2014old and new\u2014and mixing them with our own sensibilities.<\/p>\n

The punk side usually comes first because we\u2019re still relatively new to working with synths. As for the \u201cugly\u201d sounds\u2014we don\u2019t want things to get too polished. There should be some imperfections\u2026 some warts in this world.<\/p>\n

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🎙️ Q:<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Let\u2019s talk about some key tracks\u2014\u201cSinging With My Tongue Cut Out,\u201d \u201cGoing Going Gone Gone,\u201d and \u201cWhite Off Your Nose.\u201d What\u2019s going on in those songs?<\/em><\/p>\n

🎤 DRAKULAS:<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

\u201cSinging With My Tongue Cut Out\u201d is about the struggle of trying to make it as a performer in that world\u2014and honestly, it applies to this one too. It\u2019s like singing to no one.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoing Going Gone Gone\u201d wasn\u2019t always planned as the opener\u2014it found its place naturally during the process.<\/p>\n

And \u201cWhite Off Your Nose\u201d\u2026 that\u2019s a late-night track. The subject matter kind of dictated that vibe.<\/p>\n

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🎙️ Q:<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

This is your third full-length\u2014where did the biggest leap forward happen for you?<\/em><\/p>\n

🎤 DRAKULAS:<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Great things take time. We really let Midnight City<\/em> develop over a long period. A big shift was doing a lot of the recording ourselves\u2014taking our time, working with rough materials, and shaping everything exactly how we wanted it.<\/p>\n

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🎙️ Q:<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

The album has this VHS-era, analog aesthetic\u2014how intentional was that?<\/em><\/p>\n

🎤 DRAKULAS:<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Very intentional. We draw a lot from 70s films and early 80s video\u2014stuff like The Warriors<\/em>, Warhol films\u2026 and glitch is a big part of our visual language too.<\/p>\n

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🎙️ Q:<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

And finally\u2014how should fans experience Midnight City?<\/em><\/p>\n

🎤 DRAKULAS:<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Anytime. Anywhere.<\/p>\n

Pre-coitus\u2026 coitus\u2026 post-coitus\u2026<\/p>\n

All the times.<\/p>\n

\n

<\/h2>\n

Bring music back up slightly<\/em><\/p>\n

That is Drakulas<\/strong>\u2014and their brand-new album \u201cMidnight City\u201d<\/strong> is available right now.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking for something that breaks the mold\u2026 something that doesn\u2019t just sound different, but feels<\/em> like an entirely different world\u2014this is the record for you.<\/p>\n

Turn the lights down. Put the headphones on. Let the static creep in\u2026 and take a trip into Midnight City<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

For more interviews, exclusive content, and everything happening in music, media, and beyond\u2014make sure you\u2019re locked in to KJAGRadio.com<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Midnight City, the new album from Austin\u2019s Drakulas, out May 1, 2026. Featuring members of Rise Against and Riverboat Gamblers, it\u2019s a synth-punk \/ new wave burner with shades of Devo, Gary Numan, and LCD Soundsystem \u2014 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<\/p>\n

This is an advance for your consideration\u2014reviews are welcome anytime, but please hold off on sharing links or content until release day.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Austin Scene Veterans DRAKULAS Return With Synth-Soaked LP\u00a0Midnight City<\/p>\n

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New Album\u00a0Midnight City\u00a0Releases May 1, 2026<\/p>\n

——————-<\/p>\n

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Public Stream Album May 1, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

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PRESS ONLY: Download Album \/ Art \/ Photos<\/a><\/p>\n

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Key Tracks:\u00a0Singing With My Tongue Cut Out \/ Going Going Gone Gone \/ White Off Your Nose (No Explicit Language)<\/p>\n

Genre Tags:\u00a0Synth Punk, Indie, New Wave<\/p>\n

RIYL:\u00a0Devo, The Spits, Traams, Heavy Times, LCD Soundsystem, Gary Numan, Killing Joke<\/p>\n

Austin, Texas synth-punk lifers Drakulas return with\u00a0Midnight 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

After a few years away,\u00a0Midnight City\u00a0marks a clear step forward. The songs feel more connected, the pacing more deliberate, and the overall arc more immersive without losing immediacy. \u201cGoing Going Gone Gone\u201d sets the tone early, balancing tension and release with a sense of height and risk, while \u201cWhite Off Your Nose\u201d leans into a darker, late-night pull. At the center, \u201cSingin\u2019 With My Tongue Cut Out\u201d strips things down to something direct and performative, equal parts wired and unhinged. The band\u2019s approach to sound remains rooted in imperfection as a choice, not a limitation. As they put it, \u201cWe 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.\u201d That philosophy runs throughout the record, shaping a sound that feels tactile and immediate without losing focus.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Order Drakulas\u2019\u00a0Music and Merchandise<\/a><\/p>\n

Across\u00a0Midnight 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.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s 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\u2019s always there. What started as an experiment is now a fully realized lane. Drakulas aren\u2019t orbiting their other projects anymore, they\u2019ve carved out their own space, with a sound and identity that continues to sharpen with each release.\u00a0Midnight City\u00a0is their most complete statement yet. Focused, strange, and fully committed to its own logic. The signal is clearer now, but the world it\u2019s coming from is still just out of reach.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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\u2019t just make music\u2014they build entire worlds. Today, we\u2019ve got a band that operates somewhere between a late-70s dystopian dream and an early-80s analog nightmare\u2026 a group that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40130,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-written"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjagradio.com\/themic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjagradio.com\/themic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjagradio.com\/themic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjagradio.com\/themic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjagradio.com\/themic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40129"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kjagradio.com\/themic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40129\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40131,"href":"https:\/\/kjagradio.com\/themic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40129\/revisions\/40131"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjagradio.com\/themic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjagradio.com\/themic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjagradio.com\/themic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjagradio.com\/themic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}