Midlake - 'The Courage of Others', February 2010

[u2popmofo]

Halle-friggin-lujah, a new Midlake album is finally on the way.

Pitchfork: Midlake Return With New Album

It's been more than three years since we've heard a new album from the gently rocking Texas quintet Midlake. Early next year, they'll return with album number three, The Courage of Others. The album will drop on February 2 via Bella Union (February 1 in the UK and Europe). That's the cover above, and we've got the tracklist below. Americans should be good and ready to hear a song called "Winter Dies" on Groundhog Day.

A press release from Bella Union claims that the new album will swap out the 70s soft-rock vibe of its predecessor, 2006's much loved The Trials of Van Occupanther, for a more traditional folk influence. In a statement, guitarist Eric Pulido says, "We didn't want to make the same album as Van Occupanther, so we carried on moving and creating and pushing for a newer sound and emotion."

The Courage of Others:

01 Acts of Man
02 Winter Dies
03 Small Mountain
04 Core of Nature
05 Fortune
06 Rulers, Ruling All Things
07 Children of the Grounds
08 Bring Down
09 The Horn
10 The Courage of Others
11 In the Ground


Trials of Van Occupanther is one of my favorite albums of the last 5 years or so, I still listen to tracks from it relatively often. To say that my expectations for this are high would be an understatement. Can't wait to hear it, February is going to be a great month for new music.

If you haven't heard Midlake, enjoy:

YouTube - MIDLAKE - ROSCOE
YouTube - Midlake - "Young Bride"
YouTube - Midlake: Videos of Van Occupanther Pt. 3: "Van Occupanther"

 

[u2popmofo]

Not too sure about the cover for the new album though.....

 

[lazarus]

These guys are really good. A friend of mine from Denton introduced me to the music not too long ago.

 

[joyfulgirl]

Young Bride is an awesome song. I put it on every mix I made when it came out and it was always everyone's favorite song.

I look forward to more.

 

[onebloodonelife]

I finally listened to them not too long ago, on your recommendation, Scumbo. Loved 'em. Glad to see they're releasing another soon.

 

[U2isProgressive]

finally.

 

[Imperor]

Denton

Don't get me started.

I need to try that Minivan Occupant album Scumbo likes so much.

 

[mikal]

thanks for the suggestion. i'll check out their last album. not quite sure if this will stick with me or not, but i'm always up for trying something new (giggity).

 

[u2popmofo]

Oh, it's been a good day for Midlake. New songs released and tour dates announced! Hear the new tracks here:

Pitchfork: Midlake Announce Tour

Midlake:

01-05 Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon
01-06 Tallahassee, FL - The Engine Room
01-07 Orlando, FL - The Social
01-08 St. Augustine, FL - Café Eleven
01-09 Mt. Pleasant, SC - Village Tavern
01-10 Asheville, NC - Grey Eagle
01-11 Memphis, TN - Hi-Tone Café
01-12 Little Rock, AR - The Rev Room
01-22 Newcastle, England - The Cluny
01-23 Leicester, England - The Musician
01-24 Cambridge, England - Junction2
01-25 Stoke, England - The Sugarmill
01-26 Southend, England - Chinnerys
01-27 Norwich, England - Arts Centre
01-28 London, England - Tabernacle
01-30 Liverpool, England - The Willamson Tunnels
02-02 Paris, France - Nouveau Casino
02-03 Cologne, Germany - Luxor
02-04 Hamburg, Germany - Knust
02-05 Copenhagen, Denmark - Amager Bio
02-06 Oslo, Norway - Rockefeller Music Hall
02-07 Stockholm, Sweden - Debaser
02-09 Berlin, Germany - Lido
02-10 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso
02-11 Brussels, Belgium - AB Box
02-12 Bristol, England - Anson Rooms
02-14 Dublin, Ireland - Vicar St.
02-15 Glasgow, Scotland - ABC
02-16 Birmingham, England - Town Hall
02-17 Manchester, England - Academy
02-18 London, England - Shepherds Bush Empire
03-01 Tucson, AZ - Plush
03-02 Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up Tavern
03-03 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre
03-04 San Francisco, CA - The Great American Music Hall
03-05 Arcata, CA - The Van Duzer Theatre
03-06 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
03-07 Bellingham, WA - The Nightlight
03-08 Vancouver, British Columbia - The Biltmore Cabaret
03-10 Salt Lake City, UT - The State Room
03-11 Denver, CO - The Bluebird Theater
03-12 Lawrence, KS - Jackpot Saloon
03-13 Denton, TX - NX35

 

[u2popmofo]

Oh, it's been a good day for Midlake. New songs released and tour dates announced! Hear the two (beautiful) new tracks here:

Pitchfork: Midlake Announce Tour

And the tour:
Midlake:

01-05 Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon
01-06 Tallahassee, FL - The Engine Room
01-07 Orlando, FL - The Social
01-08 St. Augustine, FL - Café Eleven
01-09 Mt. Pleasant, SC - Village Tavern
01-10 Asheville, NC - Grey Eagle
01-11 Memphis, TN - Hi-Tone Café
01-12 Little Rock, AR - The Rev Room
01-22 Newcastle, England - The Cluny
01-23 Leicester, England - The Musician
01-24 Cambridge, England - Junction2
01-25 Stoke, England - The Sugarmill
01-26 Southend, England - Chinnerys
01-27 Norwich, England - Arts Centre
01-28 London, England - Tabernacle
01-30 Liverpool, England - The Willamson Tunnels
02-02 Paris, France - Nouveau Casino
02-03 Cologne, Germany - Luxor
02-04 Hamburg, Germany - Knust
02-05 Copenhagen, Denmark - Amager Bio
02-06 Oslo, Norway - Rockefeller Music Hall
02-07 Stockholm, Sweden - Debaser
02-09 Berlin, Germany - Lido
02-10 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso
02-11 Brussels, Belgium - AB Box
02-12 Bristol, England - Anson Rooms
02-14 Dublin, Ireland - Vicar St.
02-15 Glasgow, Scotland - ABC
02-16 Birmingham, England - Town Hall
02-17 Manchester, England - Academy
02-18 London, England - Shepherds Bush Empire
03-01 Tucson, AZ - Plush
03-02 Solana Beach, CA - Belly Up Tavern
03-03 Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre
03-04 San Francisco, CA - The Great American Music Hall
03-05 Arcata, CA - The Van Duzer Theatre
03-06 Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom
03-07 Bellingham, WA - The Nightlight
03-08 Vancouver, British Columbia - The Biltmore Cabaret
03-10 Salt Lake City, UT - The State Room
03-11 Denver, CO - The Bluebird Theater
03-12 Lawrence, KS - Jackpot Saloon
03-13 Denton, TX - NX35

I'm a happy boy right now, my friends.

 

[u2popmofo]

This comes out tomorrow and I'm extremely excited (hence the old Midlake avatar returning). It's gotten some good reviews already as well:

Midlake - The Courage Of Others | album reviews | musicOMH

Turn It Up: Album review: Midlake, 'The Courage of Others'

Midlake - Courage of Others | Music Review | Tiny Mix Tapes

Midlake - The Courage of Others / Releases / Releases // Drowned In Sound

 

[u2popmofo]

Well this album is frigging fantastic.

It's solid from start to finish, and the tracks were put together so well. Nothing is really as catchy as some of the more popular songs on The Trials of Van Occupanther, but I'm fairly certain they were trying to avoid that. Unfortunately, that may disappoint some initially, but I can see this being a grower for people like that. More of a folky vibe on this album that the past two, but as the sticker on the cover describes, it's a dark "..lush, haunted" type of folk.

I still can't recommend these guys enough, hopefully someone else buys this so we can discuss it. If not, I'll be tempted to buy copies for all of you vondrukes.

 

[phanan]

Based on your recommendation, I will now listen to the free stream at NPR.

 

[Elvis Presley]

I don't dislike it, but I am terribly disappointed. I really expected something big from them with this new album after the long hiatus, and this was not it. It's not bad, it's just not amazing, at all.

If you wanted some pretty mid-tempo songs that are hard to differentiate from one another, than this is your album. Otherwise, keep looking...

 

[u2popmofo]

I couldn't disagree more, but again I go back to saying that I think this will be a grower for people who don't just instantly give up because it's not a pop album.

Now that I've actually heard it, this is probably the best review I've read in regards to the description and what they have to say:

http://drownedinsound.com/releases/15019/reviews/4138801

Some of the better passages:

and the quintet have purportedly spent countless hours in the studio assimilating these influences, taking care not to produce a record that follows the same beats as its predecessor. As Pulido succinctly explains: “We didn’t want to make the same album as Van Occupanther.” It’s to their credit, then, that they’ve done nothing of the sort. Where that album cut great swathes of melancholy across Seventies soft rock, Courage... is a denser, altogether knottier affair, seeing the band take those trad-folk cues and really (like, really) run with them.

It also shares with the band’s earlier material the same, pervasive sadness. A resolutely minor key offering, it’s even less instantly gratifying than before, precipitating its one central flaw: that these songs unfold at a leisurely pace – growing in stature as they progress from unassuming beginnings to sweeping crescendo – is admirable, but a touch overwhelming; even a little daunting on first exposure. Such is the apparent air of dourness you’d be forgiven for scurrying back to the likes of ‘Roscoe’ or ‘Young Bride’ (or scouring the internet for some vacuous pop thrills) (ahem), for there’s nothing here quite as simple, or serene.

If it feels odd that a band such as Midlake seem poised to follow their ‘breakthrough’ record by actually breaking out with something as dark, strange and bewilderingly out of step as The Courage of Others, it’s worth remembering that Van Occupanther itself was a marked departure from the psychedelic leanings of debut set Bamnan and Slivercork; similarly oblivious to and unconcerned by its unfashionable nature. Moreover, this is a band that never make a great deal of sense first time round.

Rather, they actively strive for development. Never mind that they accomplish this via harvesting so much from bygone eras; in honing and maximising their sound so adeptly, there’s little separating them from the Radioheads, the Björks, the TV on the Radios or the Animal Collectives of this world. So, it shouldn’t feel odd at all, really. It should feel like a victory.

 

[Elvis Presley]

I couldn't disagree more, but again I go back to saying that I think this will be a grower for people who don't just instantly give up because it's not a pop album.

Now that I've actually heard it, this is probably the best review I've read in regards to the description and what they have to say:

http://drownedinsound.com/releases/15019/reviews/4138801

Some of the better passages:

and the quintet have purportedly spent countless hours in the studio assimilating these influences, taking care not to produce a record that follows the same beats as its predecessor. As Pulido succinctly explains: “We didn’t want to make the same album as Van Occupanther.” It’s to their credit, then, that they’ve done nothing of the sort. Where that album cut great swathes of melancholy across Seventies soft rock, Courage... is a denser, altogether knottier affair, seeing the band take those trad-folk cues and really (like, really) run with them.

It also shares with the band’s earlier material the same, pervasive sadness. A resolutely minor key offering, it’s even less instantly gratifying than before, precipitating its one central flaw: that these songs unfold at a leisurely pace – growing in stature as they progress from unassuming beginnings to sweeping crescendo – is admirable, but a touch overwhelming; even a little daunting on first exposure. Such is the apparent air of dourness you’d be forgiven for scurrying back to the likes of ‘Roscoe’ or ‘Young Bride’ (or scouring the internet for some vacuous pop thrills) (ahem), for there’s nothing here quite as simple, or serene.

If it feels odd that a band such as Midlake seem poised to follow their ‘breakthrough’ record by actually breaking out with something as dark, strange and bewilderingly out of step as The Courage of Others, it’s worth remembering that Van Occupanther itself was a marked departure from the psychedelic leanings of debut set Bamnan and Slivercork; similarly oblivious to and unconcerned by its unfashionable nature. Moreover, this is a band that never make a great deal of sense first time round.

Rather, they actively strive for development. Never mind that they accomplish this via harvesting so much from bygone eras; in honing and maximising their sound so adeptly, there’s little separating them from the Radioheads, the Björks, the TV on the Radios or the Animal Collectives of this world. So, it shouldn’t feel odd at all, really. It should feel like a victory.

Yeah, I know some people are going to love it and don't get me wrong I do "like" the album. But overall, it fell flat for me, and I have listened to it straight through about 7 or 8 times trying to get into it more. But when I listen to it up against some of the more interesting new releases that are coming out right now, it just doesn't do it for me.

I think you are going to see some unfortunate backlash against Midlake because of this album.

And for the record, I don't need a pop album from Midlake, I just need one with a few songs that don't put me to sleep.

 

[u2popmofo]

Texas has turned you against all that is good, my so called friend. Tonight I sleep on a pillow of tears.

 

[u2popmofo]

Pitchfork: Album Reviews: Midlake: The Courage of Others

 

[Elvis Presley]

Pitchfork: Album Reviews: Midlake: The Courage of Others

I didn't write that review, I swear.

 

[mikal]

awww....pitchfork reviews.....always entertaining.

 

[Elvis Presley]

awww....pitchfork reviews.....always entertaining.

While I think the reviewer spends too much time comparing the album to Van Occupanther, it is relevant context. And while each Midlake album is a departure, as mentioned, I agree with his assessment that the songs tend to be lifeless and don't go anywhere.

 

[u2popmofo]

I didn't write that review, I swear.

I hope not, did you actually read it? If there's someone alive out there who can get past the first 3 or 4 sentences without thinking to themselves "Is this a joke?", I will pay them $10.

I just find it sad that the supposedly "most indie of all indie sites" out there is the one and only place that has given it a score any where near that bad (and the one and only "indie" site I've seen that has even given it a bad score). Seriously, go to Metacritic, the only score Pitchfork is close to is freaking Spin Magazine. Every where else is extremely positive. It really says something about your review's credibility when you have more in common with Spin Magazine than any other supposedly "independent thought and music" type of outlet.

Regardless, I think they gave Van Occupanther a 7 or something anyways, and it's one of my top 5 albums of the last decade, so I really can't be bothered by what they have to say. Particularly when it appears that a 19 year old who felt the need to use a thesaurus on at least one or two words per sentence wrote the "critique". It's sad when people who are published critics can't actually think.... you know.....critically, or even seem to be familiar with the band's previous work. Bamnan and Milkmaid were "Grandaddy-lite"????

Regardless, it was good for a laugh. The album's still great.

 

[onebloodonelife]

Particularly when it appears that a 19 year old who felt the need to use a thesaurus on at least one or two words per sentence wrote the "critique".

You better watch yo self. I'm a 20 year old critic who loves her thesaurus (when used properly, of course).

The review was pretty ridiculous though. Reminds me of the shitty ass review that AC's Fall Be Kind got, in terms of writing ability, at least, since the score was still high for that album. It's quite obvious that P4K doesn't represent the pinnacle of music writing today, not even close.

 

[Elvis Presley]

I didn't think the review was amateur, I just don't think you agree with it mofo. And thats fine, I know you dig the album but I still find it to be a bit of a let down, I guess my expectations were just too high.

Don't forget, this same reviewer was the one who gave that Los Campesinos album such high marks recently, and I don't think anyone batted an eye.

 

[Elvis Presley]

I hope not, did you actually read it? If there's someone alive out there who can get past the first 3 or 4 sentences without thinking to themselves "Is this a joke?", I will pay them $10.

I just find it sad that the supposedly "most indie of all indie sites" out there is the one and only place that has given it a score any where near that bad (and the one and only "indie" site I've seen that has even given it a bad score). Seriously, go to Metacritic, the only score Pitchfork is close to is freaking Spin Magazine. Every where else is extremely positive. It really says something about your review's credibility when you have more in common with Spin Magazine than any other supposedly "independent thought and music" type of outlet.

If you are going by Metacritic, the collective score right now of the album is 74. Which places it behind these albums released this year. (that we in the indie sphere)

Surfer Blood
Laura Veirs
Owen Pallet
Vampire Weekend
Spoon
Los Campesinos
Tune Yards
Four Tet
Beach House
Real Estate
Memory Tapes

That seem about right?

 

[mikal]

Memory Tapes released an album this year? sweet! i'm gonna check that shit out.

 

[Elvis Presley]

Memory Tapes released an album this year? sweet! i'm gonna check that shit out.

Sorry, it was from November 09, they list from the past several months.

 

[mikal]

wow. i never knew about that album. still gonna check that shit out.

 

[phanan]

Not sure if it's because I'm new to Midlake and therefore had no expectations one way or the other, but I thought this was a beautiful album. Yes, it's quite mellow. Yes, the songs do flow from one to another in a similar fashion, but I think that was the point. To use these certain themes to create as cohesive a record as possible.

Rulers, Ruling All Things stands out in particular.

 

[u2popmofo]

Rulers, Ruling All Things stands out in particular.

That's one of my favorites as well. I also really love the track right after it, Children of the Grounds.

Glad you didn't hate it!