Two whole years in the studio; the jettisoning of an album's worth of material; financial and emotional pressures that threatened the band's continued existence — Denton, Texas outfit Midlake have been to the heart of darkness making this record, and you can hear it. Their keenly-awaited follow-up to 2007's Promethean pastoral The Trials Of Van Occupanther is an unmitigated triumph, its sweet melancholia truly — and at times disconcertingly — affecting.

Inspirational touchstones include venerable Brit-folk acts such as Pentangle and Fairport Convention, but with its haunting flute and quiet introspection, "The Courage Of Others" also evokes "Isle Of View," a somewhat obscure 1972 album by Jimmie Spheeris that Midlake singer Tim Smith has often praised. Making subtle use of bassoon, harpsichord and auto-harp, and featuring layer upon layer of thoughtfully-wielded acoustic and electric guitars, Midlake's third album is the slowest of slow-burners, but one also expects it will burn long and true.

"Acts of Man," one of nine songs that begins with gently-picked acoustic guitar, establishes a key theme that was also explored on Van Occupanther: namely front man Tim Smith and / or his characters' need to retreat from the crowd and modernity into — as another song title… read more »