Midlake

Formed in Denton, Texas during 2000, the alternative folk-rock group Midlake originated among musicians who had studied together at the North Texas School of Music. Their shifting roster prompted a move away from jazz foundations and toward indie rock, a shift first audible on the debut EP Milkmaid Grand Army. Under the guidance of Simon Raymonde’s Bella Union, the band reached listeners with their second album, the sleek yet somber The Trials of Van Occupanther, issued in 2006. Even stronger results followed with the British folk-rock-styled The Courage of Others in 2010, which placed prominently on charts in six European countries, yet recording sessions for the next project prompted frontman Tim Smith to depart. Guitarist Eric Pulido had already assumed lead vocals by the time Antiphon appeared in 2013, a role he retained through the long hiatus that concluded with For the Sake of Bethel Woods in 2022.

The group’s earliest, jazz-oriented configuration placed Smith alongside Paul Alexander on bass, Eric Nichelson on guitar, Evan Jacobs on keyboards, and McKenzie Smith on drums. By the release of Milkmaid Grand Army, Jacobs had left and both Pulido and Eric Nichelson were present, sharing guitar and keyboard responsibilities. The EP sold one thousand copies exclusively at Texas performances, after which the Bella Union deal enabled European shows and the recording of the first full-length album, Bamnan and Slivercork, which surfaced in July 2004. For the follow-up, Midlake altered direction, stepping back from the psychedelic character of their debut in favor of a sound shaped by 1970s influences. Issued in 2006, The Trials of Van Occupanther retained the same lineup and evoked the vocal-harmony style of soft-rock ensembles such as America as well as Laurel Canyon figures like Neil Young and Gene Clark. Touring ceased the next year so the band could begin The Courage of Others, which reached audiences in February 2010 and earned both critical and commercial praise.

During 2011 Midlake joined the Flaming Lips, Groove Armada, and Belle & Sebastian among acts contributing to the Late Night Tales mix-album series. That same year the musicians traveled to Buffalo, Texas to begin composing material for a fourth album. After several concerts in 2012, Tim Smith chose to exit and launch the project Harp. The remaining members pressed ahead in the studio, discarding two years of recordings and beginning anew. Pulido took over lead vocals while Jesse Chandler (piano/flute) and Joey McClellan (guitar) joined the lineup. The resulting album, Antiphon, was written and tracked in six months and appeared in October 2013. Through the rest of that year and into 2014’s festival circuit, the revised ensemble toured extensively across Europe and the United States and also performed in Australia. In the years immediately afterward Midlake largely paused activity aside from occasional minor shows; the members collectively opened a bar in Denton, started families, and Pulido pursued interior design.

In 2015 Pulido assembled the supergroup BNQT, whose members included Jason Lytle, Ben Bridwell, Alex Kapranos, and Fran Healy, with Chandler, McClellan, and McKenzie Smith contributing as backing musicians. Their 2017 album, modeled after the Traveling Wilburys, carried the title Volume 1. Pulido then issued the retro country-rock album To Each His Own in 2019 under the name E.B. The Younger, while Chandler explored electronics and hauntology as Pneumatic Tubes on Sunfrost (2021) and A Letter from Treetops (2022). Midlake had by then regrouped, reportedly after a dream in which Chandler’s late father urged the reunion. The hazy yet urgent single “Meanwhile…” appeared in October 2021, ending the break, and For the Sake of Bethel Woods, the band’s fifth studio album, followed in March 2022.