{"id":1426,"date":"2010-09-12T15:39:21","date_gmt":"2010-09-12T22:39:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/?p=1426"},"modified":"2010-09-12T16:03:53","modified_gmt":"2010-09-12T23:03:53","slug":"midlake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/2010\/09\/midlake\/","title":{"rendered":"Midlake"},"content":{"rendered":"

MIDLAKE<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Slow and steady wins the race for this\u00a0indie breakout band<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

McKenzie Smith, Eric Pulido, Eric Nichelson, Tim Smith, Paul Alexander<\/p><\/div>\n

After exploring classic-rock influences like Fleetwood Mac and Crosby, Stills & Nash on their breakthrough album, 2006\u2019s The Trials of Van Occupanther, the members of Midlake wanted a new direction. They found it in the folk-based tradition of vintage British acts such as Steeleye Span and Fairport Convention\u2014then set to the long, arduous task of making that sound work for them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took time to learn how to play together as a band in that way,\u201d acknowledges singer, guitarist and keyboardist Tim Smith. \u201cThe first year was a learning process for us. Then the second year we got our first song recorded, and it all happened after that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The result is The Courage of Others,<\/em> a stunning return featuring 11 startlingly vital songs that emphasize the Texas band\u2019s careful arrangements and Smith\u2019s tuneful, understated voice. Although finding the right direction was a long process, the album came together relatively quickly by Midlake\u2019s painstaking standards, starting with the song \u201cActs of Man.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat song was written and recorded in five days, which is really quick for us,\u201d Smith says. \u201cThat never happens\u2014and it was really nice. We listened back and thought, \u2018Wow, this is the vibe for the album. If we can make every song as good as this, we\u2019ll have made something we\u2019re really proud of.\u2019 That was the turning point.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith wrote all the songs, then fleshed them out with the rest of the band. \u201cI write alone, usually,\u201d he says. \u201cI like to be in a comfortable place\u2014my house, preferably. I don\u2019t like any turmoil or anything going on in my life. The last thing I want to do is pick up a guitar when things are going badly.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the songs on Van Occupanther<\/em> were rooted in an observational, third-person point of view, The Courage of Others<\/em> is more direct. \u201cI don\u2019t remember setting out with some purpose in mind. I just started writing,\u201d says Smith. \u201cI didn\u2019t mean for it to be as much in the first-person perspective as it was. Our previous album was about other characters and things, and this one is a bit more personal to me. But it wasn\u2019t a conscious thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Midlake plans to spend much of 2010 on the road, a relief after having been locked away in the studio for much of the past two years. \u201cWe\u2019re a better band now, so it was worth it,\u201d Smith says. \u201cWe wanted to be happy with the album.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013Eric R. Danton<\/p>\n

Jan\/Feb 2010 Issue of M Music & Musicians<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MIDLAKE Slow and steady wins the race for this\u00a0indie breakout band After exploring classic-rock influences like Fleetwood Mac and Crosby, Stills & Nash on their breakthrough album, 2006\u2019s The Trials of Van Occupanther, the members of Midlake wanted a new direction. They found it in the folk-based tradition of vintage British acts such as Steeleye […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[930,929,907,32,928,933,932,10156,935,934,931,936],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1426"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1426"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1426\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1444,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1426\/revisions\/1444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mmusicmag.com\/m\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}