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Late Night Tales

It’s nearly ten years ago that the curious concoctions of Late Night Tales began.

With artists such as Arctic Monkeys, Belle and Sebastian and Air all contributing to previous editions of the series, it’s now the turn of Texan folk rock starlets, Midlake.

It’s a compilation that twists and turns through anthemic folk and evocative melodies which isn’t surprising considering the curator’s own approach to their craft.

The broad musical landscape of Fairport Convention, Lazarus and Scott Walker dominate the opening to Midlake’s anthology before the bands own contribution, a cover of Black Sabbath’s Am I Going Insane, jangles with twelve string guitars and lifeless melody for over six minutes.

Its Bjork’s, Unravel (taken from 1997 album Homogenic) that sucks you into another world and her dulcet pipes and wacky ambience change the pace and breathe life into the LP. It’s followed by the finger picking folk of John Duindam and the Flying Burrito Brother’s country twang to keep the preciously wrapped tunes riding on the crest of continual flow.

It’s that flow that’s so vital to the how effective a compilation, or any album, may be, and when allied with the quality of song, Midlake don’t fall short.

One big downer to the affair is the robotic feminine voice that repeatedly fades in throughout the album running, reminding: “You’re listening to Late Night Tales with Midlake.”

Are you kidding me? I’m not that thick, but thanks all the same.

8/10

Posted In Album Reviews, Apr 06 2011. Words - Tom