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“It’s just too much,” kindhearted musician Nic Pugh says on Monday, Oct. 27, in the latest installment of The Bad Penny‘s increasingly popular “On Tyranny” series. In it, musicians open up about how they are damaged, targeted and made to feel unwelcome in Authoritarian America.

While mostly disconnected from politics in the past, the artist behind indie-electronic pop project Midniter explains how he arrived at the decision to speak his mind about Authoritarian America. It’s no easy task, with Trump and Steve Bannon’s “flood the zone” theory of controlling the U.S. media now in its 10th month.

“Right now, I don’t feel like there’s necessarily a benefit for me having an interview other than the fact that I just feel I need to do it,” the queer indie electronic artist/singer/songwriter notes. Pugh’s efforts to raise awareness about social issues goes beyond making music; he founded SugarTank! Records with Nic Holman, who are in the riot-grrrl-inspired quartet Dreamboat. The label’s primary goal is to support and celebrate LGBTQ+ artists and allies in the artists’ hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina.

“We are just trying to focus on survival,” Pugh continues. “We’re trying to do and create things that … are essential in our lives. The economy is shit, and that makes it hard to create too.” Also, don’t miss Midniter’s new video for the synth-pop/post-punk song “The Alarmist,” which underscores how marginalized communities are suffering from anxiety and claustrophobia more so than in at least recent memory, if not longer.

Subscribe to The Bad Penny‘s YouTube channel and be the first to receive updates by subscribing to this website. Find out more about Sugartank! here.

Furthermore, check out The Bad Penny‘s ongoing On Tyranny series, which we launched in the spring, here. Recent installments include interviews with Moonspell, The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, Deaf Club, Cosmic Reaper, Ted Hearne, Terzij de Horde, Chairmaker, MyVeronica, the Gunshy, Planet on a Chain, Necrofier, Cheap Perfume, Bobby Conn, Truculent, Spiritiste and many more.

This entry was posted on 10/27/2025 at 6:30 pm and is filed under Features, Interviews, On Tyranny, On Tyranny, Videos with tags Midniter, Nic Pugh, SugarTank! Records. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.