Midnight Summer, the new full-length from Pittsburgh, PA fuzzed-out doom-pop project Animal Scream, is out September 11. Dark lyricism wrapped in sunny melodies winds itself through shimmering walls of guitar. Thunderous rhythm is lightened by handclaps, snaps, and (distorted) tambourine. The record is a study in marrying disparate elements, as songwriter & producer Chad Monticue weaves contrasting threads of the modern canon into a darkly luminous whole.

Born from the dissolution of notable Pittsburgh band 1,2,3, Animal Scream supplants their psych-pop psychedelia with a vibe that's darker and more cinematic, a noir-tinted sound in thrall to the eternal groove. Signed to Frenchkiss, 1,2,3 received notice for their psych-damaged 2011 debut New Heaven. The band followed up with 2014's polarizing Big Weather, launching their own label American Hermitage, when Frenchkiss declined to release it.