Midlake: The Courage of Others
Midlake: The Courage of Others
Also In The News
|
By Darren Estwick. |  |
Sunday, 31, Jan 2010 12:24
Bella Union, out February 1st.
What's it all about?
Courage is a concept album of the old school. Many years in the making, it's a highly polished product which sits well as a whole. Each of its eleven tracks feels well-crafted and, at an average of four minutes a song, of ambitious scope.
Who's it by?
Midlake, the five-piece Texan songsmiths, are a contemporary folk-rock outfit in the mould of Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span. Their third album, The Courage of Others, is the eagerly-awaited successor to 2006's lauded The Trials of Van Occupanther. Trials, a firm fan favourite, is a hard act to follow and Midlake have certainly demonstrated courage in their rejection of the popular blues-edged, rockier sound in favour of a meandering, psychedelic and plaintive offering.
As an example..
"As the spring is made alive the winter dies/And the final cries of creatures are long behind/And full of spirit the village starts again/With one more year for a man to change his ways." - Winter Dies
What the others say
"Sometimes it takes a certain mindset to fully appreciate the charms of an act who, while universally revered and seemingly of no little sonic allure, still leave your critical faculties cold amid intense fanfare." - BBC
"An album that's like a dark cloak in which to envelop oneself, a comforting warmth to ward off life's tribulations. And the first truly great release of the year." - Independent
So is it any good?
The Courage of Others is perhaps an aptly chosen title for an album that, at its core, is fairly derivative (think Wishbone Ash's seminal 1970 effort Argus or Songs from the Wood-era Jethro Tull). Nevertheless, Midlake do deliver a sound which, even if lacking in boldness, never strays far from the mark and is a fitting homage to the classic folk music composed in 1970s Britain.
Musically, most songs on Courage are driven by an acoustic guitar and flute partnership. The album's strongest tracks, Winter Dies and Children of the Grounds, benefit from the added emphasis of distortion-heavy electric guitar crescendos.
At first, the lyrics might seem to fall into all the usual parochial, rustic trappings which have become the staple of a well-established genre. However, the overall effect is a wonderfully zeitgeisty, although pessimistic, take on our contemporary environmental and economic woes, shown with particular vitriol on Acts of Man and Rulers, Ruling all Things.
It's an atmospheric and lyrically powerful outing but one which feels let down by staid and often uninspiring music.
7/10
Matthew Bacon