Midlake, The Trials Of Van Occupanther
Texans uproot their synth-heavy psychedelia, opting for even more fantastical terrain on their second album.
Put it down to a delayed reaction to their days in the Stevie Wonder-influenced funk band the, erm, Cornbread All Stars, but Midlake's second album sees the Texan quintet opt for an altogether more fantastical terrain.
Gone is the synth-heavy psychedelia of their 2004 debut Bamnan and Silvercork — instead we get elegiac laments to giants who walked the earth three hundred years ago (“We Gathered in Spring”), the urge to be ransacked by Zapata moustache-sporting "Bandits" (“Did you ever want to be over-run by bandits/ To hand over all your things and start over new?”) and ruminations on the lives of eighteenth century stonecutters (imperious opener "Roscoe"). At its heart is the tale of Van Occupanther himself, aching for human contact yet determined “not to be too consumed with this world.”
Whilst Tim Smith's dissatisfaction with the modern world will strike a chord with those who like their songsmiths dark and brooding — he's gone on record as saying he's more interested in Renaisance art than MTV — it's the galloping tunes of songs like “Head Home” (think Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac) which make you feel like jacking in your job and heading for the sunrise.
“I spend a lot of my time worrying about the state of the world,” said Smith recently. “It seems we've lost sight of the idea of learning a craft and being happy with it. I just wish there was a little more humility in the world.”
Not waving but drowning? Midlake is the perfect place to do it.
