Premiere: Midnight Faces - The Fire Is Gone (full album)

When I got ahold of The Fire Is Gone, by Los Angeles-based Midnight Faces last week, you know I had to ask when NYLON Guys could premiere a track. Lucky for us, the duo granted us not only the premiere--but they gave us the whole record a day early and did a Q&A with us!

The band is comprised of vocalist Philip Stancil and composer Matthew Doty of Saxon Shore, the instrumental post-rock pioneering band founded by Doty and Josh Tillman aka Father John Misty. To better understand what The Fire Is Gone is, please understand what it isn’t: No fancy producers, no big name special guests, no one wearing robot costumes, no all-analog studio, and no songs recorded live to tape.

Doty told us “We made this album by ourselves and for ourselves. We made it in my apartment on a computer one track at a time. If you dig the tunes, cool. If you don’t, that’s cool, too.” Well, we have news for you guys. We dig...we dig very much, in fact. With all of the reverb we could ever want on tracks like "Shadows" and Peter Gabriel-esque ballads like "Animal," this record is solid from start to finish.

The first single from The Fire Is Gone is a track titled “Over Again,” which Stancil explains was “the last song we wrote before sending the album to be mastered.” For a band that seemlessly layers sounds, “Over Again” is essentially a guitar, bass, and drums track. Stancil says, “It’s easy to keep adding, but every once in a while it’s good to take it back to basics.”

The Fire Is Gone is out tomorrow on Broken Factory Records HERE but you can listen to all eight tracks below and check out the Q&A we did with the fellas. Follow Midnight Faces on Twitter HERE, find all of their tour dates and "like" them on Facebook HERE.

What posters were hanging on your bedroom wall in High School?Matt: I had a Kurt Cobain Poster, SF59 and Radiohead. Pretty standard.Phil: I had a weird Simon & Garfunkel poster that I found in my dads record collection. That was about it. Strange because I didn't even listen to Simon & Garfunkel. Just made me feel cool I guess.

What was the first album you bought?Phil: Kid A. I was in my sisters boyfriendís car and he was playing "Everything in It's Right Place." Until then I was listening to a lot of classic stuff; Beatles, Bowie, The Boss etc. I hate to sound cliché, but hearing that album literally blew my mind and sent me down a different fork on the music road.Matt: I'd like to say I have one of those "my older brother got me into The Smiths" stories, but I was an only child up until age 18. I think the first tape I bought was Boys II Men Motown Philly (single) and Michael Jackson Dangerous (album)- Nevermind came out later that year.

If you weren't making music what would you be doing?Matt: I've thought about starting a food truck, brewery or coffee roastery. You know, something creative that is also a bottomless pit of time and money with very low margins. I'm doomed.Phil: I got accepted to Law School before Matt and I started the band. Pretty sure I dodged a bullet there

Where's your favorite spot to grub out?Matt: Tacos Villa Corona here in my LA neighborhood of Atwater Village has an amazing breakfast burrito called Papa's Burrito for all of $3. Tacos Delta in Silverlake has some of the best fish tacos- get em with chipotle sauce.Phil: Hinanos bar in Venice Beach. Cold pitchers, good burgers, and some good competition on the pool table.

Favorite TV show/cartoon growing up?Matt: Superbook and Flying House. If your family went to church when you were little you know what I'm talking about.Phil: Just about every day after school I came home and vegíd out on the couch to three hours of Simpsons, King of the Hill, and Family Guy. Sometimes I'd even crack a textbook.