Midlake

Enwrapped in a sweltering blanket of smoke, even The Corner Hotel was unable to shake the LA-like smog of Melbourne in heat. Despite the humid conditions, a youthful crowd packed the indie stable-house to witness Laura Jean completing a short but inspired rendition of material from her Our Swan Song album. Floating between haunting beauty and harsh dissonance, the off-kilter harmonies of violin and clarinet swell against Laura Jean’s warm melodies; the trio creating a mesmerising and pleasing sound.

Having headlined a packed Corner gig just three weeks ago, and with the added convenience of Ollie Brown (singer-songwriter) being able to walk to the venue, familiarity should have settled any nerves on Art of Fighting’s behalf, but Ollie still opened with the shaky demeanour of a wino in winter. Unveiling a fleet of new material from their as-yet-untitled third album (due in February), it took but a few numbers for Ollie to reel in the shakes and for his trademark meandering cadence to reach its full glory. ‘Eastbound’, the opening single from this upcoming long-player, undergoes a slow mutation with each new performance and usual suspects ‘Along The Run’ and ‘Just Say I’m Right’ are met with faithful and energetic renditions.

The complexity of the Midlake sound (a wall of synthesisers, keyboards, guitars and a DVD player) requires a precision that the band obviously does not wish to outsource. Wandering the stage with an assortment of odds-and-bods instrumentation, the normally accommodating Corner stage is encumbered by a bevy of black-box machines and side-screen projected home videos that make the players seem like pixels in a far greater picture. While it is rare to see a headline act serving as their own roadies, the Texan five-piece are delightfully curious creatures, and after this mesmerising, yet measured performance it is hard to believe that you ‘know’ the singers of these freak-folk epics.

With only two full length releases to their name, Midlake blessed the corner audience with every track from their latest release, The Trials Of Van Occupanther, plus a handful of highlights from their debut Bamnan and Slivercork. While the cuts from this debut album were nothing to sneeze at, the juxtaposition of old and new showcased the miraculous growth that the band has achieved; the Bamnan era, Flaming Lips-inspired psychedelia evolving into the nuance-filled, 1970s pop of Van Occupanther.

‘Balloon Maker’ was the pick from Bamnan and Slivercork, the tambourine-fuelled bounce of the chorus providing sweet nostalgia to the Brit-pop heyday of Oasis and Blur. But, asides from a few die-hard fanatics, the mob had gathered to hear Van Occupanther.

‘In This Camp’ was stirring and urgent. Blossoming in the live environment, the song lifted above the lack of clarity that marred some of the busier tunes, as the Radiohead influenced discord of the verses was met with a rousing chorus. Every minute detail and slight, monosyllabic hum was captured by the band as they flair standard pop progressions with intricate samples.

Despite Midlake’s obvious pennant for perfection, mixing the band was always going to be a nightmare. The four-pronged vocal harmonies never soared to their full potential and Tim Smith’s (singer-songwriter) voice often fought a losing battle for clarity. To the credit of the sound engineers they managed to slowly eek a cleaner sound and by shows end the gig felt less like a swim in the murk of a New Orleans swampland.

After dazzling the crowd with an all-action set, including standouts ‘Young Bride’ and ‘Roscoe’, the encore saw an acoustic duo performance of ‘Chasing After Deer’ and the first touch of crowd banter, as Eric Nichelson (lead guitar) thanked the crowd, community radio and the crew for the warm reception. The intimacy and simplicity of this acoustic performance provided a pleasing break before an inspired rendition of ‘Head Home’; in which the melancholic ascent of four-part harmonies echoed back to the hey-day of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and, in turn, was offset by the more Crazy Horse catered clamour of distorted lead guitar.

While critics are accurate with their comparisons of the group to the 1970s folk-pop of Neil Young and Fleetwood Mac; Midlake lack no verisimilitude. Live, they are able to capture the soaring magic of Van Occupanther with a precision that harks back to their jazz-student beginnings. If, after the six-week Christmas exile, Midlake are able to make the same giant, innovative leaps that occurred between their debut and sophomore releases, their third album could be one of the most important albums of our generation.

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