As a New Yorker, I can sympathize with Down Woodpecker’s feeling bored and frustrated in Boston. But probably not for the same reasons. In “After Midnight,” the duo use soaring vocals and powerful harmonies to capture the pain and frustration of a breakup. However, the song is applicable to pretty much everyone right now, since it gets to that moment where you don’t feel like going anywhere — even if you could — from pining too much. This is a forceful composition that’s been stuck in my head for weeks, and I’m stoked to share it with you!
In the summer of 2016, Boston-based songwriters Edward Glen and Isaiah Johnson co-wrote their first song around a campfire by the shores of a lake in Quebec. They began to collaborate officially under the name Downy Woodpecker in 2018. They’ve been hitting the DIY circuit in Massachusetts with artists like Bonnie Parker, Snoozer, A. Leech, and more. Their first LP, Redeye Flight, will be a country and pop punk-influenced album about traveling the world.
“‘After Mindight’ is about the end of a long-distance relationship,” writes Johnson. “It’s a song that started as a rambling prose poem of a journal entry written in a late-night coffee shop in downtown Boston and has founds its way onto our upcoming album, Redeye Flight. We’re releasing it as the partner to its sibling-song, “Midnight.” Where “Midnight” explores long-distance love from a place of hope and desire, “After Midnight” reveals the way distance can strain a relationship. We hope both feelings resonate!”
Downy Woodpecker — LinkTree