Midlake

Midlake emerged from Denton, Texas with a decidedly non-Texan sound that touched on'70s  progressive rock, English folk-rock and the gentler side of psychedelia. Everyone in the initial lineup had studied jazz at the University of North Texas College of Music, and the group originally had a fusion-based sound. This largely changed when they heard Radiohead, whose electronic pop influence was felt on the first Midlake EP, Milkmaid Grand Army. Though it was pressed in limited quantities and mainly sold locally, one copy found its way to ex-Cocteau Twins member Simon Raymonde, who became a fan and helped Midlake play a small European tour. Accordingly their first proper album, 2004's Bamnan and Slivercork was recorded in Texas but mixed at Abbey Road in London. By now frontman Tim Smith had become the band's main songwriter, the lineup completed by drummer McKenzie Smith and three multi-instrumentalists (Eric Pulido, Eric Nichelson and Paul Alexander). The sound was also moving away from Radiohead and toward a more melodic '70s sound built on layers of natural instruments and Smith's troubadour vocals. The new sound fully emerged on their sophomore album, 2006's The Trials of Van Occupanther, a loose-knit concept album that made Midlake a critics' buzz band. The acclaim continued for 2010's The Courage of Others, also written entirely by Smith, on which the English folk-rock elements came more to the fore. The band spent most of 2011 working on the next album and even played some of the material live, but sessions broke down and Smith wound up leaving the band. Midlake carried on as a four-piece with Eric Pulido taking over the vocals, scrapped a year's worth of recordings and started over. The new lineup's Antiphon was released in 2013, restoring the electronic elements to their now-trademark orchestral textures. Smith formed a new band, Harp. 2016 brought a tenth-anniversary reissue of Occupanther, by now a cult classic. In early 2017 the side-project supergroup BNQT made its debut. Formed by Eric Pulido, the lineup was him with Ben Bridwell of Band of Horses, Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand, Fran Healy of Travis, and Jason Lytle of  Grandaddy.