Feb 04 2010 6:21 pm,
Midlake
‘The Courage Of Others’
(Bella Union)
According to chaos theory, complexity can spontaneously form out of simplicity. And so Midlake spin a dense and intricate web with awe-inspiring ease on their third album. The Texans should be treasured for following the peerless ‘Trials Of Van Occupanther’ with a record that’s indebted to traditional English folk music, yet still wholly and uniquely their own. The immediate funk of ‘Roscoe’ may be missing but ‘The Courage Of Others’ is brimming with somnolent harmonies and inventive, yet uncomplicated, instrumentation; and, best of all, it’s built to last. The warm, enveloping, hypnotic spell it weaves may well be the perfect sound to hibernate to, but come the spring it will still be on The Fly’s stereo. And in the summer, autumn, winter and spring again, for that matter.
Eddie Devlin
