Customer Reviews

Bamnan & Slivercork

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

At the very beginning of "Bamnan and Slivercork," you'll probably be wondering what the raves are about. By the finale, you'll definitely know.

Midlake quietly crept onto the scene with their debut album, which was completely recorded in their homes. It's a swirling, lo-fi wonderland that quietly strums and blips its way into enchanting melodies, always expanding into strange new territories -- they sound like the folkier cousin of the Flaming Lips and Grandaddy.

It opens with a plaintive little voice, a warble of synth, and a soft guitar melody that thrums out into the open. "They cannot let it expand/they cannot let it expand... they cannot let it," Tim Smith murmurs, putting different emphasis every time he repeats the line. It's a sweet, slow song with little bubbles of synth.

Then it kicks into the utterly enchanting "Balloon Maker," a horn-and-drums melody that always seems to be climbing towards a crescendo. It's the best song Wayne Coyne never made. It meanders quietly through different musical sounds -- twittering synth, lazy guitarpop, and chiming little marches.

From there, Midlake explores different types of psychfolk. They do keyboard foot-stompers, lo-fi ballads with buzzing bass, Grandaddyish electro-ballads, fuzzy soundscapes, ominous pop melodies, swirling folk ballads, and some anguished little acoustic tunes. It all finishes up with the anguished sweeps of "Mr. Amateur."

It's hard to believe that this band was originally a Herbie-Hancockish funk-jazz band. Even harder to believe that they generated all of this at home. But Midlake have not only managed it, but they're churning out some utterly brilliant and creative music, influenced by the best of indie-rock.

While there are echoes of other bands, it doesn't take long for Midlake to establish their own sound. Buzzing lo-fi guitars and bass, muffled drumming, jazzy horns, and some very creative keyboard -- chimes, blips, buzzes, waves of sound and twists of wobbling synth. Rather than drowning out the simple melodies, this instrumentation only enhances it.

Tim Smith obviously took his vocal cues from Mark Linkous, Jason Lytle and Wayne Coyne. He's a bit off-key, vaguely sleepy sounding, but very pleasant to the ear. And he has a knack for songwriting, with the dreamlike songs about men who make balloons, waiting for winter, and laser beams. Most of the songs seem to center on waiting for something astounding.

Midlake's rough-edged little album is enchanting from beginning to end, and will only leave listeners hungry for their second album. Brilliant and illuminating.

Texas is to the music world, in the present tense, what Seattle was in the late 80's, New York in the late 70's and the U.K.throughout the 60's. In other words, there's an air of creativitiy that cannot be denied.Shearwater,Okkerhill, Centro-Matic, Mandarin, Lift To Experience and now Midlake, who's marvelous debut "Bamnan & Slivercork" offers listeners an opportunity to hear the band as they take off on this masterfull debut.
Many folks will hear references throughout the disc, (Flaming Lips, Beatles, etc) and granted, these guys borrow from the past.
But what they come up with is some of the most exciting stuff being offered in any era.
Thank God for folks such as Robin Guthrie (Cocteau Twins) and his U.K. label Bella Union for having the courage and foresight to recognise and sign these guys.
Amazingly brilliant and inventive stuff for sure!

Midlake is quickly becoming one of my favorite bands, and this album has much to do with that.

Bamnan & Slivercork is hard for me to describe; it has a bit of a surreal sound to it somewhat along the lines of The Flaming Lips. By that I mean that the songs are generally mellow and there are a lot of synthesized sounds. I do think that Midlake is better than The Flaming Lips when it comes to creating catchy tunes and lyric writing. And on Bamnan & Slivercork, Midlake manages to construct a consistent world musically and lyrically without sounding like they're repeating the same song over and over.

I think the best songs on the album are those that are a little more upbeat, particularly The Jungler, Mopper's Medley, and Kingfish Pies.

Basically, the thing that makes Midlake's music great (in addition to the well written songs) is the collection of instruments and sounds that blend into the music... flutes, pianos, strings, horns, organs, and various synthesized sounds. It's certainly worth a listen.

Suprise! Radiohead and the Beatles had a baby and it is called Midlake...this cd will blow you away with its dark whimsical flowing soundscape...
I LOVE IT and cant recommend it enough.

Check them out ASAP and tell everyone you know!
(...)

It doesn't really matter what you're into to appreciate Midlake. These guys create music that's not only beautiful and different, but it's incredibly smart as well. If I was the star of a movie and I had to pick a soundtrack, Midlake would be the creator of that soundtrack. Try it...you'll like it!

That's about it: crazy good stuff. This is progressive pop with something really interesting happening in every track, stirring and touching stuff for sure, with the subtlest of prodction nuances (I'm sure that one of the sounds at the beginning of "Some of Them Were Superstitious" is of those lawn sprinklers that go "Tsch, tsch, tsch, tsch, dsh-dsh-dsh-dsh-dsh-dsh-dsh-dsh, good peaceful nostalgic sound).

My Dad confirms that if The Beatles were alive today, this is what they would be doing, though it's blasphemy for a guy like him to say a thing like that...

You can get more info and hear all of the songs in their entirity on their website, also check out their appearance on Craig Ferguson's show, which is pretty intense.

I saw these guys at the Coachella Music Festival on 5/1/05 and they were great so I picked up this cd. I am beginning to realy enjoy rock that puts a smile on my face like Arcade Fire, Pinback, and the Flaming Lips so Midlake fit in well. They sound a little like the Flaming Lips but raw and indie. I hope these guys go far. I hear a lot of potential.

The right time, the right place. Midlake scored a real hit here. Balloon Maker, Some of Them Were Superstitious, He Tried To Escape are real winners. Want to kick it to six stars? See them live.

While Midlake got some notoriety (and rightfully so) for 2006's "The Trials of Van Occupanther" the hype should have started with their debut album "Bamnan and Slivercork". While not as strong all the way through as Trials, Bamnan actually holds 3 of my favorite Midlake songs, Kingfish Pies, The Jungler, and Mopper's Medley. While Trials certainly had a 70's am rock vibe, interestingly Bamnan actually sounds more in line with recent faves Radiohead, Flaming Lips and Grandaddy. If this helps you at all, I would say that Trials had a sophisticated sound while Bamnan and Slivercork has more of an indie quirkiness. So, if you like your music quirky and unexpected, check out Midlake's "Bamnan and Slivercork".

if you want something different, that's not fuzzy and loud, check out midlake - they're fantastically delicious