Midlake

An antiphon is a call-and-response style of singing, from Gregorian chants to sea shanties. In the case of Denton Texas’ favourite sons, Midlake, it’s the perfect title for a bold response to this new phase in the band’s illustrious career, with a re-jigged line-up and a newly honed sound as rich and symphonic as it is dynamic and kaleidoscopic.
Anyone who knows Midlake’s preceding albums will recognise some constituent parts of Antiphon: the quirky psychedelia of 2004 debut Bamnan and Slivercork, the 70s soft-rock strains of breakthrough album The Trials Of Van Occupanther and the Brit-folk infusion of 2010’s The Courage Of Others. But their fourth album, Antiphon, is another fascinating departure, and also a logical progression.