Words by Holly Keys
Royce Wood Junior, a former member of Jamie Woon’s band, has been stepping out on his own lately. After two critically acclaimed EPs in 2014- Rover and Tonight Matthew– he has just released his first track of the year, the playful and multifaceted Midnight. Midnight, which premiered on Monday, is an ode to another day. It’s about laughing at failure and whipping the slate clean – knowing that tomorrow will be better. In a press release for the track, Wood stated that his inspiration for the song was the notion that if you messed up today, midnight will be along soon and you can try again tomorrow.
Midnight is the first track off Wood’s hotly anticipated debut LP The Ashen Tang, slated for release on May 11th via independent London-based label 37 Adventure. Midnight is the kind of track that makes you want to dance with your eyes closed. It’s a slinky, classic up-tempo soul tune with a modern beat. A looped piano provides the tracks’ early melody, before Wood’s soulful vocals jump in and get you moving.
The track, which the English artist said he wrote and produced in a day, features the pairing of slightly melancholic lyrics with a bouncy beat that lifts you up and makes you say ‘f**k it, lets dance.’