Biography
Named after a region in Glacier National Park, Two Medicine serves as Midlake’s Paul Alexander’s psychedelic solo outlet. During a stretch of inactivity for his main band, Alexander sought to explore arrangements and psychedelic textures beyond what Midlake could accommodate. Drawing from touchstones like Dark Side of the Moon and Pet Sounds, he devoted more than a year to studio work that shaped his distinctive approach to psych music, resulting in the 2018 debut album Astropsychosis.
The project took shape in 2016 once Midlake opted for a hiatus following the tour for their 2013 release Antiphon. Alexander viewed the break as a chance to pursue material that diverged from the band’s established sound while also treating it as a personal test of leading an album as its central creative force. Across 15 months at Midlake’s former Denton studio, he assembled the full-length record that became Astropsychosis, though assistance came from a handful of collaborators. Chief among them was studio owner Eric Nichelson, who supplied both encouragement and electric guitar, alongside Jesse Chandler on flute and bass clarinet for two tracks (Midlake, Mercury Rev), Evan Jacobs on keys for a single song, and Matt Pence on drums for the entire album. Once live performances were planned, Aimee Adams was enlisted for supplementary vocals.
The project took shape in 2016 once Midlake opted for a hiatus following the tour for their 2013 release Antiphon. Alexander viewed the break as a chance to pursue material that diverged from the band’s established sound while also treating it as a personal test of leading an album as its central creative force. Across 15 months at Midlake’s former Denton studio, he assembled the full-length record that became Astropsychosis, though assistance came from a handful of collaborators. Chief among them was studio owner Eric Nichelson, who supplied both encouragement and electric guitar, alongside Jesse Chandler on flute and bass clarinet for two tracks (Midlake, Mercury Rev), Evan Jacobs on keys for a single song, and Matt Pence on drums for the entire album. Once live performances were planned, Aimee Adams was enlisted for supplementary vocals.
Singles
