Concertwire.com

On Feb 2, 2010 Bella Union will release the eagerly anticipated new Midlake album 'The Courage of Others,' the follow-up to the group's 2006 breakout 'The Trials of Van Occupanther.' The eleven original songs on 'Courage' were written by Tim Smith and produced by Midlake at their new custom-built studio in Denton, TX. The band's lineup remains: singer Tim Smith, Paul Alexander on bass, drummer McKenzie Smith, and guitarists Eric Pulido and Eric Nichelson. 'Courage' builds on the complex textures that made 'Van Occupanther' a touchstone, revealing breathtaking soundscapes and bygone eras. Equal parts intimate and epic, the album evokes a cloistered world of its own with dreamlike melodies, stunning vocal harmonies and ambitious arrangements. Midlake took a two year break from the road to focus on the new album, but will tour extensively in 2010, with an initial string of dates and a return to SXSW - genesis of the 'Van Occupanther' groundswell in 2006 - already confirmed. Reviewing one of their last U.S. shows in 2007, SPIN Magazine observed that the new song "Children of Grounds," which appears on 'Courage,' "pointed toward further ascension," with "brooding atmospherics and guitar-face rockin'." "Out of step with anything else released in 2006" (Pitchfork), 'The Trials of Van Occupanther' proved to be a critical and artistic bellwether with Feist, Sufjan Stevens, and Andrew Bird among others, praising the album in interviews. "I wish more groups were this ambitious," Bird told Rolling Stone. Catch them at the Mercy Lounge in Nashville on Thursday, April 1.