Midlake

What’s in their beards, anyway?

By Carey Ross · Wednesday, March 3, 2010

It seems that everywhere you turn these days—musically speaking—you’re confronted by some band of beardos. What flannel was to the early ’90s, facial hair and, well, come to think of it, flannel, have been to the aughts and beyond. From the Fleet Foxes and the Cave Singers to Band of Horses and Bon Iver, musicians are listening to old-school rock and folk, growing out their facial hair and making albums of throwback music to match.

Say what you will about this phenomenon—that it’s proof there’s nothing new under the sun, or that all these bands were born a few decades too late, or even that these dudes need to stop living in the past and familiarize themselves with a hygiene regimen that involves regular use of a razor—it appears these bearded boys and their bands are here to stay.

While it might be easy for a bearded band to get lost in this sea of facial hair, all unshaven musical outfits are not the same. Case in point: the Denton, Texas crew known as Midlake.

Sure, the band put out an album—2006’s The Trials of Van Occupanther—that had critics the world over comparing them to Fleetwood Mac, Bread, and Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, but don’t let those beards fool you: this isn’t your average throwback outfit.

Midlake got its start in 1999 when founder and band brain trust Tim Smith—at that time a classically trained saxophone player—got together with a bunch of his jazz-geek buddies at the University of North Texas and began to jam under the name the Cornbread All-Stars. At this point, their “band,” if it could be called that, was cranking out funk/jazz music in their very best Herbie Hancock tradition.

This is not exactly how most bands of similar ilk get their start.

But change is the name of the musical game for Midlake, and as Smith evolved as a musician, the lineup, the sound and even the name of the band followed suit. As Smith got more into such bands as Jethro Tull, Radiohead, and Grandaddy, he also switched from saxophone to guitar, embraced a more indie rock sound and Midlake was born.

What followed was the band’s first full-length, Bamnan and Slivercork, which featured a more lo-fi psychedelic sound reminiscent of the Flaming Lips, and caught the ear of not only music critics everywhere, but also actor Jason Lee, who continues to be a vocal supporter of the band.

Critically lauded album: check. Celebrity endorsement: check. At this point, all the band needed was the placement of one of their songs on a hip television drama and they’d be all set. They’d have to wait a few years, until after the release of their second full length—the aforementioned Trials of Van Occupanther—but in January 2009, their song “Bandits” was featured in an episode of the series Fringe.

At this point, Midlake could easily have sat back on their hairy laurels, cranking out their modernist take on throwback rock for a few more critically beloved albums before even thinking of changing up their sound. But progression is the name of the game for this band, and after a few years spent listening to British folk and watching Russian cinema, Smith was ready to reinvent the wheel known as Midlake once again.

The result was last year’s The Courage of Others, which saw the band stripping down their sound even further, creating something darker, deeper and more intense than what had come before. Where Van Occupanther was more hopeful, The Courage of Others is decidedly melancholy. But it’s a beautiful, well-thought-out kind of melancholia, and, like everything Midlake does, it forces you to stop and really listen.

Who knows what the next iteration of Midlake will sound like? Will they return to their jazz roots, with horns and keys and all the attendant intricacies? Or will they break their sound down even further, until Midlake is just Smith and his guitar. Only one thing is certain: They’re probably not shaving off those beards anytime soon.