Midlake have confirmed they will release their fourth album ‘Antiphon‘ on November 4th.
The title-track received its premiere on BBC 6Music this lunchtime, and is now available to those who sign-up to the band’s official website. The album’s title is described as taking its name from ‘a call-and-response style of singing, from Gregorian chants to sea shanties’.
“It’s always through the scope of Midlake,” vocalist and guitarist Eric Pulido says of the new LP. “But on Antiphon we wanted to embrace the psychedelia, style and nuance you might hear in bands from yesteryear while also being aware of music influences present now. The result was less folk and more rock. Less nostalgic and more progressive. Now the sky’s the limit.”
The band publicly rubber-stamped the departure of original singer Tim Smith earlier this week. Elaborating on the move, Pulido reveals they felt ‘something was missing’ when initial recording sessions began soon after the release of ‘The Courage Of Others‘ in 2010.
As a result, they decided to play a few more live shows ‘to try out new songs and keep themselves out there’. “One show was Bella Union’s 15th anniversary at the End of the Road Festival, which we didn’t realise would be our last with Tim,” Pulido remembers.