Vinyl LP pressing of this 2016 release. Connections came out of Columbus, Ohio, at a rush, releasing two stellar LPs and several singles in their first year. They felt like the wind rushing through the open window of a car hurtling down the highway at 90 MPH. In the second year, they firmed up their sound and shook off some of the bedroom-lo-fi-Oh (as in Oh-hi-O) for the almost radio-friendly Into Sixes, which earned the band continued praise in Pitchfork, AVClub, Stereogum and more. And like the previous two records, Into Sixes wound up on a plethora of Best Of lists (Village Voice, Still Single, etc.) as well as on the pages of ESPN. Midnight Run kicks the murk of basement four-track recordings from the soles of the five members' collective shoes with the sound of two guitars that growl as if they are echoing out of the propellers of a B-12 bomber. After the gentle hiss for the opener Raise Awareness, which echoes the early power pop of the Shoes or Cars played through a 1987 Mustang's tape-deck, Month to Month shatters the windshield as singers Kevin Elliott and Andy Hampel stand atop the chorus like they just conquered a Two-for-Tuesday slot on your local classic rock station. From there, the record rolls over the speakers with a great band getting greater, flexing sinewy guitar with Hampel's and Elliott's majestic melodies. From the continued sing-alongs of Kate and Everyone Else and Chorus Got Laid to the nervy-clappy twist of Lisa (chorus: Lisa, you're so Lisa), Midnight Run finds Connections matching a sound as big as their propensity for melodies. Raise Awareness, Month 2 Month, Weapons, Kate, Most of Summer, Gross Lake, All in All, Keepers, Abcde, Too Late for Heartbreak, Oh Lisa, Moore's Nautilus, John from Cincinnati, Fourth
