Midwife, the project of Denver musician Madeline Johnston, has a new album called Luminol coming out on July 16 via The Flenser. After announcing the album last week, she’s now unveiled its lead single, ‘Christina’s World’, which features backing harmonies from Have A Nice Life’s Dan Barrett and additional guitars by Tucker Theodore. Check it out below and scroll down for the album’s cover artwork and tracklist.
Luminol, the follow-up to Midwife’s 2020 full-length Forever, was written and recorded in Johnston’s home base of San Miguel, New Mexico during quarantine after her tour plans were cancelled due to COVID-19. In addition to Have A Nice Life’s Dan Barrett and Tucker Theodore, the LP also features contributions from Angel Diaz (Vyva Melinkolya), Zachary Cole Smith, Ben Newman, and Colin Caulfield (DIIV).
As the album’s press bio explains, “Luminol is a chemical used by forensic investigators to reveal trace amounts of blood left at a crime scene. When it reacts with blood, luminol emits a chemiluminescent blue glow that can be seen in a darkened room. In the same way this chemical reveals evidence at a scene, Midwife is interested in profound truth — turning trial and tribulation into sources of light. Luminol navigates themes of incarceration, locus of control, clarity, self harm, confinement, agency, and truth-seeking, all erupting in a bioluminescent Rothko color-field of blue.”
