Show Review : Midlake at Metro

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This past week, Bella Union Recording Artists, Midlake, were just one of the many bands that graced Chicago stages - some of which you may have read reviews of here. Originally discovered by dc, I clearly remember the first time I heard "Roscoe" play out of his Hi-Fi boombox (that has since left him stereoless since a roommate move). I believe the track was actually the lead off for one of the many now infamous Desktop Series mixtapes.

"Roscoe" stuck in my head after the first listen or two mainly because I genuinely hated it so much. The sound was very strange and kinda creepy, especially the way they sang the word “stonecutters” . It did not take long however for my ears and mind to fully embrace it , and even more so the rest of the album The Trials of Van Occupanther in its entirety.

They played a healthy number of tracks off of both Occupanther and their first album Bamnan and Slivercork. My audio homework on their first release is not as finely tuned as it should be, but i found all of these songs they featured very interesting. I realize i open myself up for ridicule, but I'm not (at least currently) a devout Radiohead follower but from what i have seen live and heard of Yorke + crew, the cuts from Slivercork were in a very similar vein.

They also played their 'interpretation' of the tune "The Pills Won't Help You Now" which Tim Smith wrote for the Chemical Brothers. Check out the Chemical Brothers version below along with "Head Home" which particularly rocked. "Head Home" lyrics also particularly resonated with our crew at the show since mid set, the roof was actually leaking at my friends place of employment- guess his days are not full of 'honest work'.

Download: Chemical Bros ft. Midlake - The Pills Won't Help You Now
Download: Midlake - Head Home

"you had a lot of choices, and we're glad you chose Midlake!"