Midlake released their second record, The Trials Of Van Occupanther, in June. It's now November, and I'm still playing it constantly. Many excellent releases have seen light of day this year. The Trials Of Van Occupanther is among the very best of them.
Why? Well, yes, there are the comparisons to Fleetwood Mac (especially on this new single, Head Home), the late lamented Grandaddy and The Flaming Lips. Classic melodic rock with an experimental edge in the lyrics as well as the music. The romantic sounds that recall bygone good times but lead to somewhere altogether new. The sense of something timeless, priceless.
Ah yes, the music. *sighs contentedly* Head Home, like Young Bride and Roscoe before it, finds every instrument - flute, piano, guitars, bass, drums, analogue keys - playing its part, drowning nothing else out, all of it rich, seamless. Perfect. And singer-songwriter Tim Smith's lead vocals vocally leading a chorus of soothy, woozy harmonies into a dreamscape, part history, part fantasy. A little bit magic. It's where music should take you.
Head Home is exquisite. The Trials Of Van Occupanther is a must-have record. Midlake are, quietly and dreamily, essential.
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