An old piano song Nic Pugh had never finished became the starting point for “I Could Love You.” He returned to it while developing Midniter, the electronic project he was building at home between tours as a bassist.
“During the early days of this project I didn’t really have a particular plan on what I wanted anything to sound or look like,” Pugh told Queen City Backstage by email. He knew he wanted to work more electronically than he had before. Some completed songs still did not make the album.
Xeno, Midniter’s debut, was released October 27, 2026, through SugarTank! Records. Pugh’s background includes the punk and rock bands Paint Fumes and Jaggermouth, but Midniter gave him a different way to work. Bedroom demos became the basis for a record made with producer and mix engineer Justin Aswell, whom Pugh calls “essentially the offstage other half of the project.”
Aswell’s sound-design and production work helped finish what began at home. Another important part of Pugh’s working life remained firmly in Charlotte: Petra’s, which he describes as a home for almost a decade. His time there helps fund his creative work and keeps him around the bands and artists passing through.
The songs Pugh most wants people to notice on Xeno are not necessarily the singles. He favors album tracks with an odd character, even when they offer less of an immediate hook. He hopes listeners will stay with them long enough to find what he hears.
Asked what an early listener had heard in the album that surprised him, Pugh offered a shorter answer: “Having early listeners surprises me.”
From record to stage
“Figuring out how to bring it to life on stage is an experiment in itself,” Pugh said. At the time of the interview, Midniter was a four-piece: a musical director and synth player, a bassist, a drummer, and Pugh singing and sampling.
He wants as much live playing as the band can manage without equipment costs or an overcomplicated setup getting in the way. A custom lighting rig and other visual elements were being developed, too. The arrangements have to leave the musicians enough freedom to experiment and enjoy playing them.
December 12 at Snug Harbor
Midniter’s album-release show at Snug Harbor on December 12, 2026, includes Pie Face Girls and La Brava. The Plaza Midwood venue was established in 2007. Doors are scheduled for 8 p.m., with the show at 9 p.m.; the event is 18+.
Official tickets for Midniter at Snug Harbor.
Interview conducted by email.
