Austin Scene Veterans DRAKULAS Return With Synth-Soaked LP Midnight City
Austin synth-punk band Drakulas return with Midnight City, their third album, out May 1 via Dirtnap Records (and Wild Honey Records in Europe/UK). The record continues their fusion of proto-punk energy, garage rock grit, and early new wave synth textures, drawing influence from artists like Devo, Gary Numan, Grauzone, and Kraftwerk. The result feels tense and kinetic—jagged guitars and cold, pulsing electronics locked in a push-and-pull that evokes a warped transmission from an early-’80s arcade or neon-lit cityscape, more dislocated than nostalgic.
Formed by Savage Lord Mic, Sam Francisco, and Pink Rick alongside members of Riverboat Gamblers and Rise Against, Drakulas began as a conceptual project set in a fictional late-70s metropolis. Over time, that framework has evolved into a fully realized creative system that informs their songwriting and atmosphere. On Midnight City, the band deepens that world, turning their stylized universe into an active presence within the music—where each track feels like part of a larger, flickering narrative grid rather than a standalone song.
After a few years away, Midnight City feels like Drakulas tightening everything up without losing their edge. The songs hit a little more deliberately this time around, with a clearer sense of flow from track to track. “Going Going Gone Gone” comes in hot with this push-and-pull energy that keeps you slightly off balance, while “White Off Your Nose” sinks into something darker and more hazy. Then “Singin’ With My Tongue Cut Out” pulls things back to something stripped down and almost unhinged, like the band cutting straight to the nerve of it all. There’s still a roughness to everything they do, but it feels intentional—like they’re choosing exactly where things should crack or fray instead of smoothing anything out.
Sound-wise, they’re still working in that space between scrappy punk and icy synth-driven new wave, pulling from a mix of influences like The Spits, LCD Soundsystem, and Killing Joke, but it never feels like pastiche. What holds it together is the mood: neon glare, static, late-night streets, that weird in-between feeling where everything feels slightly out of sync. It gives the record a kind of lived-in atmosphere, like you’ve stumbled into a world that’s been running on its own for a while. What started as a concept has basically become the way they operate now, and Midnight City feels like the most complete version of that—focused, a little strange, and fully committed to its own version of reality.
Make sure you check out Midnight City on Spotify below and over on your favorite streaming platform!
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