Midlake
★★★★
For The Sake Of Bethel Woods
BELLA UNION. CD/DL/LP
Long-awaited fifth album from north Texas indie-folk rock sextet.
IT’S BEEN more than eight years since Midlake’s last album. Then again, they never bombarded us with records even during a heyday when their second and third albums – The Trials Of Van Occupanther (2006) and The Courage Of Others (2010) – brought Fleet Foxes-level acclaim. 2013’s Antiphon followed lead singer/writer Tim Smith’s exit and Eric Pulido’s move to frontman, and though more conventionally indie-rock, the trademark harmonies and instrumental textures remained. But that was that, until For The Sake Of Bethel Woods, apparently inspired by a dream keyboardist Jesse Chandler had in which his recently-deceased father urged him to reunite the band; the sleeve is of his dad in his youth at Woodstock (hence the title). The music? It’s good: at times dreamily pensive (Noble), at others a kind of psychedelic prog (Gone), layered, sophisticated and melodic, especially Glistening and Of Desire.