LAM has gained a large and loyal following all over the world, from the USA to Europe to Latin America (where the live band has toured extensively), and beyond. LAM has headlined and co-headlined concerts and major festivals with bands like The Cure, Green Day, HIM (HIM has cited LAM a favorite artist), Rammstein, Soft Cell and many more. LAM has performed to crowds of over 30,000 people as headliner and co-headliner on major music festivals around the world. However, London After Midnight maintains a strong underground and independent "personality" despite being a top seller (charting in the top 10 and top 20 German DAC, and other European independent charts, with each of 4 CDs released) and a major draw at music festivals year after year.
Songwriter, instrumentalist, producer and founder Sean Brennan is known for his strong stances in favor of animal rights, pro-environmental and human rights issues, anti-corporate control of media, and support for progressive and liberal political and social causes. Whatever the approach or subject matter, the music of London After Midnight is deeply touching, powerful, socially aware, romantic, emotional, disturbing, haunting, moving, and often exhibits a morbid wit with its sardonic humor (listen to the tongue-in-cheek "Your Best Nightmare" and try not to think of an Edward Gorey story).
LAM is all this, while at the same time appealing to a wide variety of people. There really is no classification that fits London After Midnight (despite LAM's "dark" image) because the music is so varied and the lyrical content (and even LAM's personality and causes) are unique and uncommon in today's music scene (often breaking boundaries- much to the outrage of people who live and die by genre labels). Sean Brennan shuns all labels (as any artist worth their salt will do) and the music he creates can really only be classified as "London After Midnight".
From 2015-2019 LAM headlined major festivals around the world, including Wave Gotik Treffen multiple times, and many other events. In 2019 Sean Brennan started his own record label, Darkride Records, and released "Selected Scenes from the End of the World: 9119", the original 1991 album remixed from the original master tapes (it is NOT A REMASTER- it's completely remixed from the multi-track master tapes). This new mix restored missing audio tracks and includes a never before released song from the 1991 sessions. Darkride Records released the "Oddities Too", similar in theme to the 1998 album "Oddities" with unreleased music, new music and much more. The all new un-named LAM album and a complete remix of "Psycho Magnet", remixed from the original master tapes, is also underway.
Main discography:
-Selected Scenes from the End of the World, 1995 CD (originally released as a cassette in 1991)
-Psycho Magnet, 1995 cassette, 1996 CD
-Oddities, 1998 cassette, 1998 CD
-Violent Acts of Beauty, 2007 CD
-Selected Scenes from the End of the World: 9119, 2019 CD (remixed from original multi-track master tapes)
- Live From Isolation, 2021 CD.
- Oddities Too, 2022 CD
Permanent line-up:
Sean Brennan: music, lyrics, vocals, most of the instruments.
Current live line-up:
Jeremy Kohnmann: guitar
Michael Areklett: bass
Pete Pace: drums.
Atmosphere
London After Midnight Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
behind a veil you find serenity.
I guess that's something we share,
violently fading into nothing to find peace,
or escape it.
Curious, majestic black strands cover you entirely,
yet I may there.
an eternal game that must leave your soul in shreds,
as it does mine.
You have my sympathy,
but forget about everything just for tonight
for this moment in life,
this moment in time
could be your first,
or your last.
You abandoned hope long ago,
you abandoned love,
or it abandoned you,
but now is the time for beauty,
violent beauty so pure it's scary,
the past is over,
this is something new,
altogether alien, exotic, and welcome,
erasing what came before,
with a blink of her amazing eyes...
The lyrics of London After Midnight's song Atmosphere are rich with contemplative musings on the nature of escape, beauty, and the past. The opening lines - "Pale and Dark and Tortured Blue, behind a veil you find serenity" - suggest a sense of emotional torment, perhaps a feeling of being lost or disconnected from the world around us. Despite this, the song's narrator finds solace in the idea that there is something universal about these emotions, that "I guess that's something we share."
The idea of escaping from this emotional pain is explored further in the lines "violently fading into nothing to find peace, or escape it." Here, the singer seems to acknowledge that there are two ways of dealing with the dark emotions that are depicted in the song - one can either try to find a sense of inner peace and acceptance, or else try to run away from them entirely. This is reflected in later lines that suggest a sort of resignation to the never-ending game of pain and hopelessness that life can sometimes feel like - "Always being tested, an eternal game that must leave your soul in shreds, as it does mine. You have my sympathy." Despite this, however, the song ultimately seems to suggest that there is still a way to find moments of transcendent beauty and joy even in the midst of this suffering - "but forget about everything just for tonight, for this moment in time could be your first, or your last… this is something new, altogether alien, exotic, and welcome, erasing what came before, with a blink of her amazing eyes…"
Overall, the lyrics of Atmosphere offer a portrait of a deeply introspective mind struggling with difficult emotions, but also suggest that there is still beauty and wonder to be found in even the darkest of moments.
Line by Line Meaning
Pale and Dark and Tortured Blue,
The atmosphere is melancholic, dark and depressing.
behind a veil you find serenity.
Despite the darkness, there is a sense of peace and calmness.
I guess that's something we share,
The sense of peace in the darkness is relatable and shared between the singer and the listener.
violently fading into nothing to find peace,
The search for peace is so strong that it becomes violent and self-destructive.
or escape it.
Seeking peace can also mean trying to escape reality.
Curious, majestic black strands cover you entirely,
The darkness consumes and engulfs the listener, but with a sense of curiosity and mystery.
yet I may there.
Despite the darkness, the singer can still see and connect with the listener.
Always being tested,
Life is a constant test of strength and resilience.
an eternal game that must leave your soul in shreds,
The challenges of life can leave one broken and damaged.
as it does mine.
The singer can relate to the pain of the listener.
You have my sympathy,
The singer empathizes with the listener's struggles.
but forget about everything just for tonight
Take a break from the hardships of life, just for the night.
for this moment in life,
This present moment is precious and fleeting.
this moment in time
Time is constantly moving forward, so cherish this moment.
could be your first,
This moment could be the listener's first experience of true beauty and joy.
or your last.
This moment could also be the listener's last, so cherish it.
You abandoned hope long ago,
The listener has lost hope in life and the future.
you abandoned love, or it abandoned you,
The listener has lost faith in love and relationships.
but now is the time for beauty,
Despite the past, there is still room for beauty and joy in life.
violent beauty so pure it's scary,
The beauty is intense and overwhelming to the point of being frightening.
the past is over,
The past cannot be changed or undone.
this is something new,
This moment is a fresh start and a new experience.
altogether alien, exotic, and welcome,
This new experience may be unfamiliar and different, but it is still a welcome change.
erasing what came before,
This moment has the power to erase past pain and unhappiness.
with a blink of her amazing eyes...
The beauty and joy of this moment is fleeting and delicate, just like a blink of an eye.
Contributed by Noah C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.