Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther - general
Original Release date: 25 July, 2006
Label: Bella Union
Original Release's track list:
1. Roscoe
2. Bandits
3. Head Home
4. Van Occupanther
5. Young Bride
6. Branches
7. In this Camp
8. We Gathered in Spring
9. It Covers the Hillside
10. Chasing after Deer
11. You never Arrived
Other releases: I am aware only of one release that offers extra tracks - the two-discs release for Australia and New-Zealand, but that's available through Amazon.com as well. Extra tracks are Morning will be kind, Paper Gown, an alternative version of It Cover the Hillside, Excited but not Enough and Golden Hour. I haven't bought this one yet, so I can't tell if it's worth spending the extra bucks on it....
Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther - review
The first time I heard Denton, Texas band Midlake must have been in 2004 or early 2005, when we began hearing tracks from Bamnan and Silvercork on European radios. I clearly remember liking it, but thinking that there wasn't anything out of the ordinary about it. Although I probably need to listen carefully again - and I will sooner and later - at which point I may change my mind, my impression back then was that I was listening to people who had ideas but were still in the process of working through their (impressive) list of influences. Then I completely lost track of them, until, last year, I chanced upon a live recording of "Roscoe" and "Van Occupanther" on the radio. To be quite honest, I didn't recognized them until the show host gave their name, but that didn't matter: what did was that I knew I was hearing something special, nothing short of a small miracle.
Reviews, unanimously singing their praise btw, often compared them to Radiohead in a way or another, which always strikes me as odd. Not that they have nothing in common: if anything, they both share this apparently (yet not so) staggering transformation from ugly little ducks to majestuous swans - although I would argue that in both cases, the seeds of their musical genius could already be found in their respective first albums. And there are faint evidence, mostly found in Tim Smith's voice, as well as musically in a couple of songs (most evident of all is in "Branches", which melancholic introduction would not have been out of place on an EP of the "Ok Computer" era), but let's face it, most records made after OK Computer and that belong somewhere within the infinitely vast realm of pop-rock/indie/whatever you choose to name it, can somehow be linked to it if one is really interested in playing such games. But frankly, unlike many bands which are still clumsily struggling to comprehend the riches of "Ok Computer" or even "The Bends", Midlake has succeeded in not only understanding, but also seamlessly merging that influence with many others, Fleetwood Mac and America immediately springing to mind. Those bands are also much more obvious references than Radiohead in my opinion, along with, if one wanted to dig some more contemporary names, Grandaddy or Grizzly Bear. As a result, "The Trials of...." proposes a musical landscape both familiar and foreign, drawn by layers upon layers of melodies deceivingly simple where you feel oddly at home although you've never quite been there before
And this is the great strength of a record I personally consider one of the most captivating of 2006. It doesn't try to break new grounds or to revolutionize a genre, but as you listen to it, you progressively get caught in the net of sensations, images and atmosphere it weaves around you. Certainly, some songs will stand out, and awaken your interest on their own merits - "Roscoe", which I would undoubtly choose as my favorite song of 2006, and deserves the title of "instant classic", "Head Home", "Young Brides" or even "We Gathered in Spring". But a handful of songs, no matter how convincing, is not enough to make a great album. What's so outstanding about "The Trials of Van Occupanther" when all is said and done is that feeling that we've just been invited to witness a ghostly gathering in forgotten woods, an enchanting picture full of nostaliga but refusing to slumber in gratuitous sadness, almost miraculous and so fragile that you barely dare to breathe for fear that it would disappear in an instant
Of course, this is but an opinion, and I have no doubt other people will find this same record tedious, or at least forgetable, and they would be just as right as I am for lauding it: for it is in the nature of such a musical piece which stands out, not for its bravery (unless publishing a honest work is considered such - which may just be), but for creating its own, peaceful niche in the music scene of today, to fall flat to some ears. But there's no one else I can speak for but myself and to me, this very sense of being witness to something unique and almost miraculous, of urgency contrasting with the luxurious pace with which the songs unfold, of extreme frailty of something that could vanish at any moment is what makes "The Trials of Van Occupanther" an outstanding recording that belongs to no other genre but its own
Final mark: 9.5/10
*Alternate rewrite of my amazon.com review, first published January 19, 2007
Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther - Links
Midlake Official Site - includes a media section with audio and video
Midlake's MySpace
Midlake @ Bella Union
Midlake @ wikipedia
Remix of Roscoe - mp3 (Note: I'm usually not a big fan of remixes, but this one's outstanding!)
Audio interview of the band at Amsterdam
Midlake's concert at Amsterdam - free video of the whole set!
Midlake videos @ Youtube - for once, those are the legal thing, posted by Bella Union and World's Fair
Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther - regular edition