Taipei-based indie band Wendy Wander explore the shades and shadows of romance on their second full length, Midnight Blue. Founded in 2016, the group made waves with Spring Spring, their 2020 debut LP of starry-eyed romance and languid dream pop. Their 2023 follow-up keeps the focus on love but adds nuance, frankness and maturity informed by the pandemic, military service and other events of the intervening three years. With guitarist Wei Xiang Wang, keyboardist Jonathan Li and drummer Ray Hsieh taking on writing duties alongside primary songwriters Sam Chiang-Yang (lead vocals, bass) and Zeng Ni Yu (vocals, guitar), the album is a conscious stylistic evolution that sees the band expanding their jam-driven process. Songs crafted during collaborative writing sessions in Yilan and refined on tour deliver the synth pop of “Sleepless City” and the title track, the funk of “Love Trap”, the slinky dance loop of “Button” and the waltz of “Story of More”—a wide genre spectrum that echoes the subtle hues of the band’s take on modern love. Below, Wendy Wander give Apple Music a picture of the creative spark behind the album tracks. “Sleepless City” “The embryonic form of this track came from a jam session between our keyboardist Jonathan and lead vocalist Chiang-Yang one day long before pre-production started on the album. It’s a really refreshing song that’s got a retro Hong Kong flavour. It’s not the style you’d expect from Wendy Wander. We look forward to this one being lots of fun played live.” “Love Trap” “The verses are taken from the first draft of the song ‘Let Me In Your Heart’ on our first album. They didn’t feel quite right then, so we set them aside. This song is one of the few on this album that came about while jamming during rehearsal. It’s our first attempt at putting disco funk music together with Chinese lyrics.” “Angel Angel” “This song brings together the styles of ’90s C-pop and Western hits. While doing military service on Tungyin, Jonathan described the feeling of being alone on an outlying island missing his girlfriend. The sax solo was a last-minute stroke of luck in the studio that added a crucial romantic element to the song.” “Story of More” “When planning this album, Zeng Ni said she wanted one of the songs to feel like a waltz. So that’s how this track was conceived. The lyrics were written in Yilan. Over the courtyard of a bed and breakfast was a lovely, open vista—but it also felt a little lonely. And that feeling was brought into the song.” “Murmur” “This is another song that first came into being long ago and was eventually completed during songwriting in Yilan. It’s got a city feel. Like the title says, it feels like the musing of a city boy who knows his emotions are reaching a limit but is powerless to do anything but stroll along the road murmuring to himself.” “Button” “With its electronic elements, this song is another attempt at something new on this LP. The arrangement is suffused with an atmosphere of sensual desire, while the lyrics are a frank description of a short-term burst of passionate emotion—for only an instant or just one night, the moment is there to be seized.” “Love Bomb” “This is another song by Jonathan. It’s been around for a while—fans who’ve seen us live will be familiar with it. How it was created: Riding in a car, Jonathan thought up a chord progression and decided to write the song on the spot. The first line, ‘The night drizzle soaks your body’, describes the scene of its creation—riding in a car during a night drizzle and writing out a song to express the feeling of being intensely in love with someone who might not love you back.” “Cherry Ocean” “Guitarist Wei Xiang wrote the verses after finding inspiration in a picture. Lead singer Chiang-Yang heard it before doing his military service and was suddenly motivated to complete the song during basic training.”