Friday, January 29, 2010

new music/Midlake

Midlake has a very good new cd that's out next week, it's called "The Courage Of Others".  It's the follow up to last year's "The Trials of Van Occupanther".  Their sound is sort of a mix of Jethro Tull and Fleetwood Mac...but in a good way.  I thought when I first heard them that they were from the UK, but they're from Texas.  Close.  Midlake sites Radiohead as a major influence, and you can hear it. But if you listen to them they also have a very classic 70's Laurel Canyon-type sound.  Soft, but with strong melodies.  Not hook-laden at all, their songs get better over repeated listening.  The chant-like quality to some of the vocals (reminiscent of Fleet Foxes) can tend to make listening to this all the way through a bit cumbersome, so I prefer it in smaller doses.  The imagery they used on Van Occupanther suggested some weird sort of Midieval times (not the dinner theater) and the cover of the new disc looks like some strange Pagan ritual is taking place.  "The Courage of Others" picks up right where Van Occupanther left off.  I've listened to it a few times so far and it's very good.  Below is a video of the single "Acts of Man".  It's a good video, the clip is actually from a movie done in 1927 by F.W. Murnau ("Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans").

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