After all this time we should never be surprised at the music that Texas throws out into the world. Over the years, the Lone Star State has become renowned for far more than just outlaw country artists and dusty rock’n’roll, having birthed countless acts of all descriptions and persuasions, none more distinctive in recent times than Denton-raised psych-folk sextet Midlake, who will return to Australia this May!
Having started their odyssey way back in 1999 as jazz students indebted to leftfield artists like Radiohead and Jethro Tull, by their 2004 debut album Bamnan And Silvercork, Midlake had moved seamlessly into the realm of lo-fi psychedelia occupied by beloved indie outfits such as The Flaming Lips and Grandaddy, the record made under the tutelage of Belle Union founder and former-Cocteau Twin, Simon Raymonde.
But it was their oddly-titled 2006 follow-up, The Trials Of Van Occupanther which really found the band hitting their stride, its pastoral-tinged take on classic rock finding Midlake tipping their collective hats to bands such as Fleetwood Mac and The Eagles. It was this album’s lead single ‘Roscoe’ that really dragged the band into the public domain, its cruisy vibe and anachronistic lyrics making it faultless radio fodder and it quickly became omnipresent on airwaves all over the world.
2010 found Midlake releasing their third album The Courage Of Others, but also receiving widespread acclaim for co-producing, engineering and performing on the decorated debut album The Queen Of Denmark from former-The Czars frontman, John Grant. Then in late-2013, following a brief hiatus, the current incarnation of Midlake – Eric Pulido (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Paul Alexander (bass, keyboards, bassoon, guitars, backing vocals), McKenzie Smith (drums, percussion), Eric Nichelson (guitars, autoharp), Jesse Chandler (keyboards, piano, flute, backing vocals) and Joey McClellan’s (guitars, backing vocals) – emerged from the wilderness clutching their fourth album Antiphon, which has already been glowingly endorsed by publications such as Mojo, Uncut, The Guardian and Q Magazine. It’s an exciting extension of Midlake’s existing aesthetic, dragging their distinctive brand of folk into thrilling new directions.
Now the band are preparing to bring this stunning new life to music onstage for their large contingent of Australian followers, returning for the first time since their 2010 sojourn which saw them sell out the Prince Of Wales in Melbourne as well as wowing crowds at Splendour In The Grass and at headlining shows all over the country – those shows memorable for the triple-flute attack that they pulled out at various junctures of their rapturously-received gigs. In recent times, Midlake have played London’s inaugural BBC 6 Music Festival as well as touring through the States with our own singer-songwriter extraordinaire Neil Finn, and they’ve already been invited to the Sydney Opera House for this year’s prestigious Vivid LIVE, so prepare to be soothed by one of Americana’s classiest and canniest exponents when they return to Melbourne this May!
Midlake – May 2014 tour
Tickets on sale now through www.handsometours.com
Friday May 23 – Vivid Festival – Sydney Opera House, Joan Sutherland Theatre
Saturday May 24 – Melbourne – Corner Hotel