admin
22 December 2023
Man, this album makes me wanna kick somebody\'s ass. And I’m not even a violent person. But I just get so frustrated when interesting musical happenings get squashed by seemingly obligatory, whiney, indie rock vocals. And that’s exactly what’s happening for me on Bamnan And Slivercork, the latest LP offering from Texas natives, Midlake. So you know what? Rather than tear this thing apart, I’m just gonna focus on the instrumentation.
The sound of this album is amazing. It’s got this electronically tinged, modernized Charlie And The Chocolate Factory feel to it that is strum-crazy, emo-folk mixed with keyboards and drums in a way that leaves you with something that is dreamily awkward. It’s mellow and orchestrated as all hell, yet, simultaneously, it manages to be undeniably fun. From the Romper Room-esque bliss of \"He Tried To Escape\", to the hard-wired buzz of \"The Reprimand\", back to the drum-heavy Tarzanian chase of \"The Jungler\", the LP plays out like the unorthodox soundtrack to some gem of a children’s story that has yet to be made.
Halfway between Air, Radiohead, The Kids of Widney High, and Super Mario Brothers 2, Midlake strums, drums, and keys their way in and out of rhythms that paint purple hills and smiling green suns on the insides of your eyelids. It grabs your imagination by the collar and ignores your shouts about not knowing how to swim, tossing you into that cool, blue lake water that makes 20-something feel a lot like 12.
So, yeah... if you think you’d be into that sort of stuff and think you could survive the vocals (which actually become less noticeable with each listen), then Bamnan And Slivercork just might have earned itself a cozy spot in your collection.
The sound of this album is amazing. It’s got this electronically tinged, modernized Charlie And The Chocolate Factory feel to it that is strum-crazy, emo-folk mixed with keyboards and drums in a way that leaves you with something that is dreamily awkward. It’s mellow and orchestrated as all hell, yet, simultaneously, it manages to be undeniably fun. From the Romper Room-esque bliss of \"He Tried To Escape\", to the hard-wired buzz of \"The Reprimand\", back to the drum-heavy Tarzanian chase of \"The Jungler\", the LP plays out like the unorthodox soundtrack to some gem of a children’s story that has yet to be made.
Halfway between Air, Radiohead, The Kids of Widney High, and Super Mario Brothers 2, Midlake strums, drums, and keys their way in and out of rhythms that paint purple hills and smiling green suns on the insides of your eyelids. It grabs your imagination by the collar and ignores your shouts about not knowing how to swim, tossing you into that cool, blue lake water that makes 20-something feel a lot like 12.
So, yeah... if you think you’d be into that sort of stuff and think you could survive the vocals (which actually become less noticeable with each listen), then Bamnan And Slivercork just might have earned itself a cozy spot in your collection.
artid
2474
Old Image
6_10_midlake.jpg
issue
vol 6 - issue 10 (jun 2004)
section
entertainmental