Midlake's Latest Finds Courage In Itself

A lack of hooks isn't good enough reason to eschew The Courage of Others

Midlake
The Courage of Others
Release Date: Feb 2, 2010

Early in the first pass through The Courage of Others, it is clear that Midlake have yet again re-calibrated themselves. While Tim Smith’s unique voice and flair for writing instantly memorable hooks made the group stand out from its inception, little about the group’s early releases could have predicted 2006’s stunning The Trials of Van Occupanther, a lyrical marvel and startlingly assured paean to 70's rock that seamlessly melded Smith’s songwriting with the sonic aesthetic of touchstones Fleetwood Mac and Neil Young.  The Courage of Others finds Midlake retreating further into the past, with multiple nods to British folk-rock acts, particularly guitarist Richard Thompson, his Fairport Convention, and Fairport offshoot Steeleye Span. The continuation of the band’s journey through various dated sub-genres (and I mean that in a good way) is not the most remarkable transition Midlake has made with Courage, however: the record showcases a fearless attempt by Smith and the band to eschew the band’s varied, catchy melodic concepts for a moody and restrained, yet sonically rich thematic exercise. 

Courage works quickly in establishing British folk music as a guide post. In the curiously languid opener “Acts of Man,” Smith beckons the listener into darker territory than fans of Midlake are accustomed to, asking that “when the acts of man cause the ground to break open, let me inside.”  The next several songs play with variations on the themes established by “Acts,” delivering dark and relatively melodically consistent folk-rock with calling cards of the band interspersed here and there, not unlike a “light through these woods…that I walk through alone,” as Smith describes in “Core of Nature.” Particularly notable on the first half of the record are the seamless integration of electric guitar and keyboard into the folk template of “Small Mountain” and the Renaissance Faire-inspired “Winter Dies,” and the sudden use of a major key in “Fortune” that makes the album’s quietest song its most unsettling.  

As the album progresses and its heavy folk influences weave their way into Midlake’s already-established identity (or is it the other way around?), the considerable effectiveness of Courage begins to show. After “Rulers Ruling All Things” articulates the band’s confidence in staking out its territory, with Smith assuring us that “I only want to be left to my own ways,” the sublime  “Children of the Grounds” morphs from lilting folk into the most readily apparent continuation of the band’s work on Occupanther. The tension between the two styles adds to the effectiveness of the track, and when a stubborn acoustic guitar is overtaken by a driving electric chorus backing Smith’s lament that “we’re raised in a town where they jump on your back like children…and we’re all undone,” the band’s shrewd juxtaposition of its own history and our shared musical history comes into sharp relief. Midlake’s past seeps into each successive track, adding new depth to Smith’s continued elaboration on the relatively simple themes established at the outset of the album. “Bring Down” reminds the listener of Radiohead’s influence on the band’s early work, and the title track finds Smith exploring familiarly self-deprecating lyrical territory while a jagged and meandering electric guitar solo tugs against a chorus of flutes.  

The Courage of Others is a deceptively complex exploration of the melodic and sonic patterns of folk-rock, interwoven with modern influences and the band’s own increasingly distinctive sound. The lack of the hooks that characterize Midlake’s first two LPs can make the first listen frustrating for those expecting more of the same – indeed, Courage seems to spend long stretches in a sort of woodsy holding pattern. After several listens, however, it becomes apparent that the band is intentionally leading you in circles. When slight deviations in the path begin to reveal themselves, the result is revelatory.