First up, the most impressive thing about Midnight is the flexibility of Tori Cross’s vocals, a whisper in your ear at one moment, the next a powerful projection that you could imagine stretching from one side of the 02 to the other end gracefully and effortlessly.
A feel for drama and dynamics is always important whichever genre you’re in, but in the pop arena where the dividing line between bland and timeless is paper thin, it’s absolutely essential.
And while we’re on the subject of huge arenas, Midnight is the kind of track you can imagine the lighters being raised for in large numbers. It’s a slow, sensual anthem, a pure love song about the moment when the lights go down and you’re dancing under the stars, although the ultimate twist is that the object of Tori’s affections is actually not by her side but hundreds of miles away.
The track was recorded at Parr Street studios in Liverpool, where the likes of Rhianna, Justin Bieber and Coldplay have laid down their magic previously. It’s certainly a top drawer production courtesy of the extremely aptly named Tee Soulful – who recently toured with Paloma Faith. The devil, as ever in these cases, is in the detail, and as well as the track dripping in smooth slow dance R&B grooves and strings, we like the odd more unexpected touch like the caressing pluck of acoustic guitar that proves to be the icing on a very tasty cake.