That there is any talk of a new Midlake album at all, eight and a half years after Antiphon, is thanks to a dream by keyboardist Jesse Chandler. In it, his father, who died in 2018, appeared and encouraged him to reconvene the folk-rock band. Not for nothing does a painting of (the then 16-year-old) Chandler senior at the legendary
Woodstock festival grace the cover of For The Sake Of Bethel Woods.
True story or not, we're happy to take it for granted when it yields nostalgic gems like Bethel Woods or Feast Of Carrion. These two songs could have easily been included on the magical The Trials Of Van Occupanther from 2006 - still the highlight of the Texans' (modest) oeuvre. Other songs alternately sound surprisingly funky (Glistening), unprecedentedly solid (by Midlake standards; Exile), Beatlesque (Meanwhile) or - yes, just a tad unremarkable. The occasion is fine and it's nice to have them back, but a little more magic wouldn't have hurt this fifth Midlake album. (RME)more
