Midnight Juggernauts

Melbourne’s Midnight Juggernauts, comprised of Andrew Szekeres, Vincent Vendetta, and Daniel Stricker, are one of those bands whose music sits at the intersection between Prog Rock, Disco, and Ambient. Their big break came with a 2007 tour of the US supporting Justice, after signing with EMI. A slew of big festival slots followed, and 3 albums and 6 EPs later, Midnight Juggernauts are still going strong and working hard. They’re definitely a great band to see live - Vendetta and Szekeres share most of the vocal duties and complement each other perfectly with some pitch-perfect harmonising, as drummer Stricker, a relentless, driving force, lays down the heaviest of 4-to-the-floor dance grooves. Szekeres’ basslines are deeply funky, and sit right in the pocket with the drums. It’s a small wonder in itself how he can play such groovy lines and sing (sometimes falsetto) harmonies all at once without imploding. Vendette, over by a bank of keyboards on the right (they usually set up in a line, with the drummer center stage) fills out the music with some analog-sounding layered synth pads. There’s also a bit of a light show, almost as if to hint at their ambitions of becoming a stadium rock band. They certainly play with the skill, energy, and volume to pull it off.