Single Review: Save Me

Motel Midnight are Reuben Keeling (vocals, bass guitar), Bruce Ferguson (vocals, guitar) and Ben Stanley (synths, beats, production). Emerging from the smoky neon haze, Motel Midnight have arrived with their new single Save Me.
Save Me is one of a handful of singles due for release over the coming months.

Drawing on influences from house, hip hop and indie rock, the New Zealand trio combines shimmering synths with screaming guitars, fuzzed-out bass and stomping beats.

The song opens with a groovy bass line under a keyboard chord and accompanied by a funky guitar phrase. It sounds like the accompaniment to a montage of failing to hail taxis, learning to love dancing alone and spending your weekends fixing your grandad’s truck. The vocals kick in reminiscent of an LCD sound system track and a great syllabic rhythm.

The bass is backed up by meaty synth in a musical break where the guitar line solidifies its earworm hook. By the chorus, the vocals are a flurry of layers hurriedly delivering the repetitive infectious lyrical hook.

The musical bridge has the keyboard sounding like a fleet of submarines sounding off their sonar.

The video is a really effective superimposition of differently coloured shots of the band members playing the song. The result is a pop art-looking performance video of afterimages weaving in and out of each other. A rogue hand might poke out from the main body to tweak a knob or make a different gesture, it’s elegantly simple and fun to watch.

Save Me conjures up images of a house party before and after the cops arrive. It also feels like the soundtrack to a hazy night of disorderly misdemeanours. This reviewer recommends bringing this song to your next act of guerilla vandalism.