Mike Meehan might begin his new EP, Angel Midnight, evoking something old, but the Lucky Ones prove there’s much to be found in searching the horizon for something new. The band exemplifies this aesthetic with their music, a sun-faded take on garage rock and Americana. Each song here will sound familiar enough to be lived-in, much like your favorite pair of boots or cozy sweater rather than the natty sneakers you wish would just give up the ghost already.
The five-song EP leans hard into this theme: a sense of being cast out and forgotten, and confronting that reality. The characters that inhabit the Lucky Ones’ songs might be down and out, but that doesn’t have to mean they’re counted out. The EP really soars on its final song, “Ragged Company.” Here, we see Meehan and the band take joy in their lot with a jangly beat that transforms the album wistful nostalgia into a re-invigoration of purpose.