Midnight Movies have a new EP out, Nights (New Line Records). The follow-up to their sophomore LP, Lion The Girl, this one is basically remixes and covers, which sorely disappoints me.

I picked up Lion the Girl just before SXSW 2007, saw the band perform live and talked to drummer Sandra Vu a bit about how much I was digging the group’s Southern California melancholic drone vibe.

But instead of busting out new tunes, the EP leads off with an unfortunate cover of of “Night in White Satin” and ends with the same track sung in French, “Mes Reves Satin.”

Don’t get me wrong, they do a fantastic job of covering the track. I guess I don’t see why they need to lean so heavily on a cover song to gain popularity. I know it works for bands like Three Doors Down and Limp Bizkit, but with the strength of their two previous albums, I would have liked to see Midnight Movies stretch themselves a bit.

With that said, the James Iha (Smashing Pumpkins) remix of “Patient Eye” is primed and ready for the club. The punkish “Souvenirs” remix by Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeah’s) is just okay.

The tracks worth sampling are “Should Have Known” and “Stormy Eyes,” which originated in the Lion The Girl sessions but didn’t make the final cut.

Midnight Movies : “Should Have Known” (mp3)