2012–2014: Formation and Days of Thunder The band was formed as a result of Lyle and McEwan meeting during a co-writing workshop in 2012 in
North Hollywood, Los Angeles. Inspired in part by the score for
Drive, and the retro synth genre growing around its release,
2015–2018: Endless Summer, first remix album, and Nocturnal In 2016, the duo released a 12-track
LP,
Endless Summer, followed in 2017 with the release of
The Midnight Remixed on the
Monstercat label. Their second studio album,
Nocturnal, was released in October 2017, which spent several weeks as a best seller on the music distribution website
Bandcamp and reached number 17 on
Billboards Dance/Electronic charts in October 2017. The band went on to perform their second sell-out concert, taking place at the Globe Theatre on
Broadway in Los Angeles in November 2017. The band had multiple collaborations with
Timecop1983, another retro synth genre producer. One of the collaborations appears on the album
Nocturnal, titled "River of Darkness". The other collaboration between them appears on the 2018 album
Night Drive of Timecop1983, titled "Static".
2018–2020: Kids, second remix album, and Monsters The Midnight released their third studio album,
Kids on September 21, 2018. The album is the first in a trilogy series that shares similar thematic elements. In 2019,
The Midnight Remixed 02 was released on Monstercat. McEwan also appeared in the documentary film
The Rise of the Synths, which explored the origins and growth of the
synthwave genre. McEwan appeared alongside various other composers from the scene, including
John Carpenter, who also starred in and narrated the film. During the beginning of the
COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, The Midnight hosted a remix competition called Remix Radio, providing the
stems of multiple songs they had produced on their website for free. On April 3, 2020, the livestream premiered on
YouTube for one hour and thirty minutes. In July 2020, The Midnight released their fourth studio album,
Monsters on
Counter Records. The album was included on
AllMusic's list of the best albums of 2020. The album is a thematic continuation of their previous album
Kids, focusing on adolescence, closeness and alienation from the perspective of a teenager.
2020–2023: Horror Show, The Rearview Mirror, Heroes, and live album The Midnight first released their second EP,
Horror Show in October 2020 exclusively through
Amazon Music. The EP was released to all platforms in March 2021. They followed with the collaborative EP,
The Rearview Mirror with Magik*Magik Orchestra in July. The EP features reimagined orchestral versions of songs from
Endless Summer to commemorate its fifth anniversary. The Midnight released their fifth studio album,
Heroes in September 2022. It is the third and final album in the
Kids trilogy which includes songs that are influenced by
hair metal bands and
heavy metal, specifically
Def Leppard and
Mutt Lange. The band released their live album,
Red, White and Bruised: The Midnight Live in September 2023 which featured performances from their
Heroes tours.
2024–present: Graphic novel, new label, and Syndicate The Midnight announced that their first graphic novel,
The Midnight: Shadows, would be released by
Dark Horse Comics in October 2024. The story and characters are based on The Midnight's music, and the book features writer Zack Kaplan working with artists Stephen Thompson, Johnoy Lindsay, and Thiago Rocha. In 2024, the band announced McEwan would step away from touring to focus on producing new music. The band added drummer Kwesi Robinson to the lineup to fulfill McEwan's role on live drums. The Midnight made their
Ultra Records debut with the single, "Chariot" in September 2024 from their upcoming sixth studio album,
Syndicate. The band followed with their second single, "Love Is an Ocean" in February 2025. Third single "Digital Dreams" released on May 30, 2025. "Chariot" was featured on the soundtrack for the
Codemasters racing video game
F1 25 which also released the same day. The fourth single "Shadowverse" was released on August 1, along with the reveal of ''Syndicate's'' tracklist and October 3, 2025 release date. A fifth single, "Summer's Ending Soon", was released on August 29. A sixth single, "Runaways" featuring
Bonnie McKee, was released on September 17. In an interview with
Daily Express, McEwan called
Syndicate "our version of an apocalypse record" which had gone through a rework after the band and label mutually agreed the first version wasn't there yet. Lyle called
Syndicate "the album that we just couldn't help ourselves from making" with both Lyle and McEwan going through personal trauma during the writing process. Lyle calls the album the denouement of the
Kids /
Monsters /
Heroes trilogy, signaling the closing of a chapter. The Midnight announced a deluxe version of
Syndicate with six additional songs was releasing on May 15, 2026. The expanded album features new songs, unreleased demos, and remixes including their latest single "Love Is an Ocean (
Chromeo Remix)". ==Personal lives==