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Inside Tracks #4 - Midlake
Artist: Midlake | Inside Tracks #4
Album: The Trials Of Van Occupanther (Bella Union, 5th June 2006)
Song: Track 10: Chasing After Deer
Background to the album: By their own admissions the earlier recordings of Midlake owed much to the bold but generic sound of early to mid Radiohead. However after a couple of line-up changes and a maturing of their songwriting palette the band shifted their sound into the lo-fi psychedelic realm of Grandaddy and Flaming Lips for their breakthrough 2004 debut Bamnan and Silvercork, with a heavy reliance on analog synths and a new-found penchant for moments of lush Americana.
2006's The Trials of Van Occupanther was a step further and alongside a lean towards the harmonic classic rock of Fleetwood Mac and Crosby, Stills and Nash they lyrically began to explore new territory and write rich, evocative tales of rural American life. Singles Roscoe, Young Bride and Head Home became the album's radio-friendly calling cards but it was the slight acoustic fuzz of Chasing After Deer that became most representative of a very precious moment in the band's career.
Why this song? Seemingly buried inconspicuously towards the rear of The Trials of Van Occupanther the gentle, circling acoustics of Chasing After Deer has become a lyrical and contextual apex of the entire album. Referencing meadows, woods and the sea as frontman Tim Smith talks of the ill-fated pursuit it's romanticised and richly-evocative portrayal of rural American life bewitched a public growing tired of the stagnant tales of urban desolation which had seemingly become de rigeur in the UK at the time.
Clocking in at a little over two minutes thirty seconds, it's slight, unassuming presence seemed to sum up everything about the Denton, Texas quintet. Rich in melody, impassioned and oblique, it offered a warm and intoxicating window into another life and has since become Midlake's most enchanting songwriting moment.
What the critics said about Chasing After Deer:
Sputnik Music: "one moment where the album's latter half soars is in Smith's lyrics. For example the quirky sadness of "Chasing After Deer" is a definite throwback to the funny little lines that made Bamnan so special".
http://sputnikmusic.com/album.php?albumid=10459
Pitchfork: "Midlake's new one rises above retro pastiche to probe its central character, the lovelorn, calendar-confined Van Occupanther; spacey production and allusive songwriting mark the album as a present-day artifact."
http://pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/37268/Midlake_The_Trials_of_Van_Occupanther
Paste: "CSN harmonies coexist peacefully with orchestral piano-pop flourishes and Midlake's synthesized elaborations, all measured out and stirred together with perfectionist precision. Van Occupanther feels like a contrarian response to so many bands copping from '60s psych-pop and '80s New Wave while leaving out everything in between. And it also feels like the group is rescuing this music from the patchouli-stained clutches of the jamband circuit, a laudable public service."
http://pastemagazine.com/tag/midlake
Watch Rather lovely homemade video to accompany Chasing After Deer. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=2S7wWr5lZd4
More information: www.midlake.net
Words: Josh Timber
The Midlake image used is taken from a Midlake Studio, Denton recording session from January of this year.
Album: The Trials Of Van Occupanther (Bella Union, 5th June 2006)
Song: Track 10: Chasing After Deer
Background to the album: By their own admissions the earlier recordings of Midlake owed much to the bold but generic sound of early to mid Radiohead. However after a couple of line-up changes and a maturing of their songwriting palette the band shifted their sound into the lo-fi psychedelic realm of Grandaddy and Flaming Lips for their breakthrough 2004 debut Bamnan and Silvercork, with a heavy reliance on analog synths and a new-found penchant for moments of lush Americana.
2006's The Trials of Van Occupanther was a step further and alongside a lean towards the harmonic classic rock of Fleetwood Mac and Crosby, Stills and Nash they lyrically began to explore new territory and write rich, evocative tales of rural American life. Singles Roscoe, Young Bride and Head Home became the album's radio-friendly calling cards but it was the slight acoustic fuzz of Chasing After Deer that became most representative of a very precious moment in the band's career.
Why this song? Seemingly buried inconspicuously towards the rear of The Trials of Van Occupanther the gentle, circling acoustics of Chasing After Deer has become a lyrical and contextual apex of the entire album. Referencing meadows, woods and the sea as frontman Tim Smith talks of the ill-fated pursuit it's romanticised and richly-evocative portrayal of rural American life bewitched a public growing tired of the stagnant tales of urban desolation which had seemingly become de rigeur in the UK at the time.
Clocking in at a little over two minutes thirty seconds, it's slight, unassuming presence seemed to sum up everything about the Denton, Texas quintet. Rich in melody, impassioned and oblique, it offered a warm and intoxicating window into another life and has since become Midlake's most enchanting songwriting moment.
What the critics said about Chasing After Deer:
Sputnik Music: "one moment where the album's latter half soars is in Smith's lyrics. For example the quirky sadness of "Chasing After Deer" is a definite throwback to the funny little lines that made Bamnan so special".
http://sputnikmusic.com/album.php?albumid=10459
Pitchfork: "Midlake's new one rises above retro pastiche to probe its central character, the lovelorn, calendar-confined Van Occupanther; spacey production and allusive songwriting mark the album as a present-day artifact."
http://pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/37268/Midlake_The_Trials_of_Van_Occupanther
Paste: "CSN harmonies coexist peacefully with orchestral piano-pop flourishes and Midlake's synthesized elaborations, all measured out and stirred together with perfectionist precision. Van Occupanther feels like a contrarian response to so many bands copping from '60s psych-pop and '80s New Wave while leaving out everything in between. And it also feels like the group is rescuing this music from the patchouli-stained clutches of the jamband circuit, a laudable public service."
http://pastemagazine.com/tag/midlake
Watch Rather lovely homemade video to accompany Chasing After Deer. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=2S7wWr5lZd4
More information: www.midlake.net
Words: Josh Timber
The Midlake image used is taken from a Midlake Studio, Denton recording session from January of this year.
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