Fly By Midnight's 'The Race: Lap 3/3' EP Crosses the Finish Line with a Rush of Neon and Nostalgia
- Abby Anderson
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
Stand-out tracks: "Heart Race" "Less in Love"
Our favorite: "Divine Thing"
Release date: April 18, 2025
For fans of: 5 Seconds of Summer, The 1975, The Band CAMINO
Fly By Midnight is crossing the checkered flag in a shower of stunning sparks on their latest release, The Race: Lap 3/3. The third and final part of The Race project, which started early last year, carries the classic, groovy, neon-flecked synth-pop sound Fly By Midnight has established as their dynamic trademark. But as the band, comprised of Justin Bryte and Justin "Slavo" Slaven, drives into the final lap of the project, they show no signs of pumping the brakes in their creative prowess as they swerve into experimenting with new sonics and spinning heartache into a pulsing glimmer of hope.
While Fly By Midnight is typically the sonic equivalent of a late-night city drive, "Divine Thing" is one of their sunniest endeavors to date. Backed by a supple acoustic and a fleshed-out synth, the song bursts with an effervescent glow. If its angelic bridge weren't stellar enough, its swoon-worthy chorus hook makes it as smooth as silk : "You know it kills a man to define things / But looking at you is a a divine thing / I change my mind and give up everything / Don't know why."
"Less in Love" is back to the danceable heartbreak that was a staple in the first part of The Race project with songs like "Try." But this time around the instrumental leans more raw than electronic, popping with paradoxical joy as Breit and Slaven's vocals mesh with slick guitars and twinkly piano synths, singing of the most gut-wrenching of hearbreaks: "I've never been so messed up / The more I try to give all my love / To someone other than you."
Dreamy, achey "Heart Race" closes this chapter of the Race project, showing just how far Fly By Midnight has come since "SuperFine" kicked off Lap 1/3 almost a year ago. Floating through production that feels like a skipped heartbeat, one-liners like "She was just so evangelistic and I just wasn't in the mood," and a guitar solo bridge that rivals an ever-further pushed foot on the gas pedal in the rush it gives. Fly By Midnight leaves Lap 3/3 of The Race in a cloud of smoke that makes you wish they would round the track back to the beginning for another lap.
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