The Courage of Others
Midlake
Score:65
Reviewer: Ed Butler
Label: Bella Union (UK & US), Speak n Spell (Australia)
Reviewed: Jan 16th '10, Released:2010
Midlake’s The Courage of Others is devoid of a ‘hit single’. Housed in the new album’s 11 tracks, there is not one song that is as immediate or catchy as ‘Roscoe’ or ‘Young Bride’. But what Midlake offers in its place is an expansion of the more low-key, hidden moments of the band’s predecessor, The Trials of Van Occupanther. These changes make The Courage of Others more challenging, but reveal a different, more musical, side of the band. This is both blessing and curse.
In many senses, The Courage of Others could be interpreted as a step backwards, but this would be selling the band short. The Fleetwood Mac comparisons that were flung around the music world in 2006 would find no happy place in 2010. Instead, Midlake have reined in their synth-driven pop tendencies, preferring instead to embrace mournful, down-tempo pastoral folk. They have, however, retained their flutes.
At first, this dirge-like aesthetic obscures much of what Midlake have managed to achieve. The Courage of Others, while not immediate, is instead the sound of a band getting better at what they do the most of; the kind of gentle, meandering folk that Van Occupanther had in spades, but was obscured by the hit singles.
While the absence of these grab-you-by-the-lapels moments perhaps limits The Courage of Others’ claim to the kind of greatness that its predecessor is labelled with, there is no doubt that it is a progression for the band – thematically and emotionally, if not stylistically. Unfortunately, avoiding melodies is not the best way to go about progressing. The Courage of Others studiously observes the notion of composition; just like Grizzly Bear last year, nary a note is out of place. The problem is, none of those places are particularly interesting or engaging.
It’s unlikely that The Courage of Others will win over legions of new Midlake fans. And it doesn’t sound like it’s intended to. But for those who fell in love with Van Occupanther, this is probably the best thing Midlake could have done, without merely rehashing their past success. But they really could have done with a couple of killer songs.
