MIDNIGHT AMBULANCE must be considered a band to watch over the next year or so.

Formed of singer/drummer Amelia Stokes and guitarist Fraser Fulton, they came storming out of the lockdown period with a handful of impressive releases such as Black Gloves and 5 AM.

And with the prospect of more new material on the horizon, they are fixed to ride that momentum into 2022.

Among the more impressive performers at Vibration Fest this month, they proved they can deliver on the stage as well as the recording studio.

But what makes them tick? What inspires them? The duo step forward and confess to The Weekender their Seven Deadly Tunes

 

SLOTH – What tune makes you want to sit back and do nothing forever?

Amelia: I’m getting sleepy just thinking about this question... Probably between Itchycoo Park by The Small Faces (total throwback) and Coffee by Sylvan Esso. I used to listen to The Small Faces a lot in my teens. This song makes me feel like nothing really matters; that I have no responsibilities; and that, actually, everything will turn out OK...for the next 2:46 minutes, at least. I listened to a lot of Sylvan Esso during the first lockdown (Fraser introduced me to them). I could listen to their music for hours. They build up this really beautiful and chilled-out trance with great vocals and track.

 

WRATH – What tune makes you want to absolutely wreck the hoose?

Amelia: It’s got to be a Led Zeppelin record for sure. Maybe Good Times Bad Times? That intro is one of my favourites and really motivated me to learn the drums. It’s totally eclectic.

 

LUST – What tune do you NEED in your life right now?

Fraser: Wet Leg: Chaise Long. Such a great song. Amazing, playful and fiery lyrics. It sounds so effortless but also powerful.

 

GLUTTONY – What tune can you not get enough of?

Fraser: Gang of Youths: Let Me Down Easy. Awesome band with an incredible frontman. Can’t get enough of his voice and full but effortless delivery. Great lyrics too and really cool and sometimes unexpected phrasing. Goosebumps!

 

GREED – What tune makes you want to hear more and more from that band?

Amelia: St Vincent. Somebody sent me one of her songs a few weeks back and I immediately went onto Spotify and listened to her entire discography. Really retro sounds with buckets of attitude.

 

PRIDE – What tune are you most proud to have written?

Amelia: I think one of the songs we’re most proud of is Morlich. It sort of says everything about who we are as a duo, how we became friends and what we were going through at that time. No frills, no fuss.

 

ENVY – What tune/chorus/verse/solo/lyric do you wish you had written?

Amelia: Pretty much any Phoebe Bridgers song. Her lyrics are incredible. She sums up something so complex in just two lines, and the second sentence makes you really re-think the first. She also sings everything like it’s being said for the first time. Her songs feel so personal and thought through, but at the same time spur of the moment, like she’s offloading some inner thought or secret.