Midlake - The Courage of Others

Bella Union Records

February 1st, 2010

Ok I'll have to be honest here. I've never listened to Midlake prior to this album. I have no idea what the other albums sound like and apparently each one sounds different. This is a good thing then, because I really dig this album and it doesn't really doesn't matter what preceded it.

The Courage of Others has a great folky/pagan vibe to it, with just a twist of fuckin' Sabbath's 1st album. Espers were the first band that popped into my head, and of course Pentangle with the whole folky-robed-pagan-nature shit. I feel like I should be smoking pot in a meadow in rural England somewhere circa 1969 when I listen to this. Which brings me to a point I want to make:

Honestly the criticism that bands are constantly reviving the sounds of the past instead embracing new trends is kind of weak. I mean this type of music was awesome 40 years ago and to dismiss it as unoriginal, even though the album is clearly well-played, well-sung and well-written, is an insult to it. Plus these are just influences. Midlake definitely took an old sound and made it their own.

I will say that the album is front-end heavy. The best songs, "Acts of Man", "Small Mountain", "Core of Nature" and "Rulers, Ruling All Things" are all in the first half of the album. The back-half is noticeably weaker and I think the last song is not a great send-off. A great album needs to be consistent, have a good opener and closer, and contain a couple peaks in the middle.

RIYL: Espers, Great Lake Swimmers, Pentangle, Donavan

Rating: 8.5

Beach House - Teen Dream

Sub Pop Records

Released: January 6th, 2010

Teen Dream is far and away the best album of 2010 so far. I'm not saying it will be the best at year's end, because there's still plenty of '10 to go, but I like this album.

The best part of this album is that it sounds exactly what both the band and album name bring to mind. It sounds like a lazy day, on a beach, outside a house, in the summer, with um... a teen? Ok I sound pervy now. I'll stop.

Anyhoo...

This Baltimore duo's third album is by far their best. Each album has gotten progressively better and better, each time building off their previous effort. Devotion was an amazing album (#7 on my year-end list of 2008) and full of dreamy goodness, which Beach House managed to capture and add an ever-so-slight pop element, for the perfect storm of dream-pop awesome-ness.

The album opens and closes perfectly with "Zebra" and "Take Care" respectively. It then hits early with "Silver Soul" which contains just the right amount of distortion to make it the most shoegaze-sounding track. The album peaks at the fourth song with "Walk In The Park" which sounds like the walk in park you had that one summer's day, not too long ago, after meeting someone special. "Lover of Mine" has the dreamiest organs and the poppiest hooks.

I will have to be a bit more sober here and say that the album probably won't blow everybody's socks off. I have certain thing for dream-pop/shoegaze. I like music you can get lost in. This album won't come right out and grab you, and it's a very slowly-paced piece. This would be a great album to take a nap to. Or make out with someone.

RIYL Asobi Seksu, Deerhunter, My Bloody Valentine, The Velvet Underground with Nico

Rating: 9.5