Midniter release ‘I Could Love You’, the final single before debut album ‘Xeno’
Midniter released the single and video “I Could Love You” on September 15, 2026, the last of four singles before debut album “Xeno”, out October 27.
Charlotte, North Carolina synthpop project Midniter, the solo vehicle of Nic Pugh, released the single and video “I Could Love You” on September 15, 2026, via Bandcamp and YouTube. It is the fourth and final promotional single ahead of Midniter’s debut album, “Xeno”, due October 27 on SugarTank! Records, the Charlotte label Pugh co-founded. The release coincides with the opening of vinyl LP pre-orders for “Xeno” through the label’s own store.
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Midniter describes “I Could Love You” as a ballad about unrequited love
Pugh traced the song back to an unfinished piano piece: “‘I Could Love You’ came from an old piano tune that I never finished. The bookends of the song are directly from that idea, with the middle evolving into a more synthpop direction for Midniter. To me, it’s a pretty standard ballad about unrequited love – a tale as old as time that everyone can understand.”
The video for “I Could Love You” favors mood over narrative
Pugh said the video leaves its meaning open: “The video is more ambiguous, playing with the question, ‘Is this about desire, obsession, or both?’ It’s ultimately your call to make. Our goal with this video was to focus more on mood than narrative. It was more important to live in these feelings of distance and longing than explain why they linger. The dancers, our friends from Baran Dance, were instrumental in carrying those moods throughout the video with their choreography. Our main actress Dustie Bayer was also incredible in her debut.”
Paul Jahn of Yawn Productions filmed and edited the video, co-directing it with Pugh. Choreography comes from Baran Dance members Audrey Baran, Faith Centa and Donovan Granville, with Dustie Bayer in the lead acting role. For the silhouette performance scenes, Midniter expands to a trio with Joe Boyland and Dan Hitzelberger joining Pugh. Filming took place at Petra’s, the Charlotte venue where Pugh works and where Midniter’s 2025 debut single video, “Shoot the Moon”, was also shot, alongside a University of North Carolina dance studio and locations around Charlotte.
About Midniter
Midniter is the solo indie-electronic project of Charlotte, North Carolina musician Nic Pugh, launched in 2024 after roughly two decades in punk and rock’n’roll bands, including Paint Fumes and Jaggermouth. As Midniter, Pugh mixes synthpop songwriting with indie-electronic production, citing Radiohead, Justice, The Knife, LCD Soundsystem, Aphex Twin, Squarepusher and M83 as reference points alongside an “Indie Sleaze” visual style. Pugh co-founded Charlotte label SugarTank! Records with fellow musician Nic Holman; the label supports LGBTQ+ artists and allies. Midniter’s debut single, “Shoot the Moon”, arrived with a video shot at Petra’s in 2025, and Side-Line covered the project’s “Alarmist” video single that October. “I Could Love You” is the fourth and last of the promotional singles released ahead of Midniter’s debut album, “Xeno”, due October 27 on SugarTank! Records, with vinyl LP pre-orders now open through the label.
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