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Midlake
2,616,764 plays (128,518 listeners)
Listening now: Seattle93, coachcass13
indie, lo-fi, indie rock, indie pop, alternative… see all
Midlake was formed in 1999 by a group of jazz students at the University of North Texas. The original lineup consisted of Tim Smith (vocals, guitars, keyboards), McKenzie Smith (drums), Paul Alexander (bass), Eric Nichelson (guitar), and Evan Jacobs (keyboards). Their initial work — under the working name The Cornbread All-Stars — consisted of funk/jazz explorations heavily influenced by Herbie Hancock.
Later the band began to lean more toward an indie rock sound. Tim Smith quit playing saxophone and began writing songs that were heavily influenced by bands such as Jethro Tull, Radiohead, Travis, and Grandaddy. Smith says about that: “We don’t want to get called a Radiohead rip-off band. I think Radiohead is a lot closer to my natural tendencies as a songwriter than a band like, um, Jethro Tull. I listen to way more Jethro Tull than I do Radiohead these days, but I could write 10 Radiohead songs before I could write one Jethro Tull song. I want to sound more like Jethro Tull, but I just can’t. That’s a big struggle.”
Jacobs left the band and Eric Nichelson took over on keyboard. Jason Upshaw joined the band as a guitarist. Live recordings from this period, recorded at Denton’s Panhandle House studio, were never released as the band felt they had moved beyond the material.
Later the band began to lean more toward an indie rock sound. Tim Smith quit playing saxophone and began writing songs that were heavily influenced by bands such as Jethro Tull, Radiohead, Travis, and Grandaddy. Smith says about that: “We don’t want to get called a Radiohead rip-off band. I think Radiohead is a lot closer to my natural tendencies as a songwriter than a band like, um, Jethro Tull. I listen to way more Jethro Tull than I do Radiohead these days, but I could write 10 Radiohead songs before I could write one Jethro Tull song. I want to sound more like Jethro Tull, but I just can’t. That’s a big struggle.”
Jacobs left the band and Eric Nichelson took over on keyboard. Jason Upshaw joined the band as a guitarist. Live recordings from this period, recorded at Denton’s Panhandle House studio, were never released as the band felt they had moved beyond the material.
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svampmoln wrote:
New group "Retro rock" focuses on rock bands today rooted in the 60's and 70's rock. Welcome! http://www.last.fm/group/retro+rock
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shagatude wrote:
reminds me of the good 70's soft rock era http://indieface.blogspot.com
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ChudleyCannons wrote:
i can't wait for this apparent upcoming album. That and that means a tour. (I'm assuming.) And I'd looooove to see these guys live.
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StuTroubadour wrote:
Djed for them in Malmö Sweden, Really great live.
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okkoto wrote:
they have left vague bulletins on their myspace about working on a new album but absolutely no mention of any kind of time frame.
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inseki wrote:
I really like this band
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karenegould wrote:
this band is so freaking good!
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doqtor wrote:
I wonder what will they pull next, because with every new release they sounded different but better, so I expect to hear that "improvement" again. But I can't wait anymore, I'm checking for new album every day now(and for past 6 months) so any new info is helpful ;)
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deise06 wrote:
tour dates?
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nimH37 wrote:
When's that new album supposed 2 drop?? i reeelly love that wannabe classic rock/indie steelo. did anyone else think that the video for Head Home was weak? IMBW
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OmarSleeze wrote:
when the hell are they touring?!?!
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DominEl wrote:
Excellent group. I am a little disappointed that they've moved from their more synthesized lo-fi rock to folkier indie, but it's still great. They're a very talented and skillful group.
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jeroenvanbommel wrote:
sounds great
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MorningBella wrote:
Excited But Not Enough is a brilliant track!
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elsimondark wrote:
E>
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CampfireStories wrote:
great band.
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jerkfacejazz wrote:
Wonderful sounds always come out of Texas!
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wool31 wrote:
I am so looking forward to the next album and seeing them live.........i missed out on the last tour.
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kspanks04 wrote:
http://checkyourdonkeydoor.blogspot.com/
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thompiddock wrote:
mmmmmmmmmm
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Recent Activity
- Tommasobo, hernandezdaniel, coaviv and 7 other people added Midlake to their libraries. 3 hours ago
- BryanBoru tagged Midlake with ‘peaceful quiet’ and ‘indie rock’. Monday morning
- rafe101, Nane29 and horseheadnebula added Midlake to their libraries. Monday morning
- Klackvieh tagged Midlake with ‘american’. Sunday afternoon
- macalanka tagged Midlake with ‘indie’ and ‘lo-fi’. Sunday afternoon
- lanZunlala, TheJohnsMusic and Pearlriver added Midlake to their libraries. Sunday morning
- svampmoln tagged Midlake with ‘retro’. Saturday evening
- svampmoln connected Midlake to the group Retro rock. Saturday evening
- hotschpotsch, Annijaney, imdavidcameron and 2 other people added Midlake to their libraries. Saturday morning
- JarvisAndKate tagged Midlake with ‘americana’. Saturday morning
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