The obverse of the retro-revolution spearheaded by Fleet Foxes, if you will, Midlake are poised to release a new album. In fact it's already leaked and the more enterprising and unscrupulous among you will quickly be able to obtain a copy. Where Fleet Foxes' close harmonies tend to evoke Crosby, Stills and Nash, Midlake's are more akin to "Don't Fear the Reaper" (their hit "Roscoe", for one, would have benefited from More Cowbell) mixed with, oh I don't know, "Ventura Highway" or something.

It's all impossibly 70s, and the yearning for the simple life expressed in the lyrics to "Roscoe" (Whenever [sic] I was a child / I wondered what if my name had changed / into something more productive / like Roscoe / been born in 1891 / waiting with my aunt Roslein) and "Head Home" (Bring me a day full of honest work / and a roof that never leaks / I'll be satisfied) is echoed by the vintage aesthetic of the music (and the fact that the band choose scenes from this old film as a backdrop to the song when they play it live reinforces this impression).

The clincher, though, for me is the guitar solo (around the 2:46 mark), which is sadly omitted from the official single version. It's all rough-hewn and sloppy, as if guitar solos hadn't really been invented yet, and they're pioneers, forging ahead into uncharted territory. They clearly know what they're doing, but there's an earnestness to it that somehow saves it from tipping over into pastiche. At least, it seems that way to me.

Midlake's new album, The Courage of Others, will be released on 1 February. You can listen to it at their website.