Midlake - Roscoe (Bella Union)
4/5
By: Michael Cragg
Fans of Mercury Rev, Grandaddy, The Flaming Lips and, ahem, Fleetwood Mac will find much to love about Midlake. The Texan five piece have taken the aforementioned bands' penchant for psychedelic rock and elaborated on it further by throwing in a dash of 70s folk rock, culminating in this years brilliant LP 'The Trials of Van Occupanther'. Signed to the wonderful Bella Union label (home to the likes of The Dears, Howling Bells and Fionn Regan), Midlake have been threatening to bleed into the mainstream much like Arcade Fire did last year, the music press seemingly falling over themselves to praise their album and live shows.
'Roscoe'- the second single from said LP - opens that album in a suitably laconic style, its tempo hinting at a slow jog rather than a wild sprint out of the speakers. The Fleetwood Mac influence is immediately evident in the languid keyboard riff, the polished production and the double-tracked vocals, and as the drums roll into view you almost expect Stevie Nicks to pipe up. It doesn't happen.
This isn't to say that Midlake are mere copyists, and as the slow-burning chorus builds and builds throughout the song you're reminded of what it feels like to hear a band transcend their influences and become something special in their own right.
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