''The Courage of Others'' is the third

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

band

Midlake Midlake is an American folk rock band from Denton, Texas, formed in 1999. The band consists of Eric Pulido, McKenzie Smith, Scott Lee, Eric Nichelson, Jesse Chandler, and Joey McClellan. In 2012, vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter Tim S ...

. It was released on February 1, 2010, on

Bella Union Records Bella Union is a British independent record label founded in 1997 by Simon Raymonde and Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins. It is now run solely by Raymonde. History After releasing records with 4AD for a large part of their career, Cocteau Twin ...

. The album sleeve pays homage to ''

Andrei Rublev Andrei Rublev (, ; ) was a Russian artist considered to be one of the greatest medieval Russian painters of Orthodox Christian icons and frescoes. He is revered as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and his feast day is 29 January. Ear ...

'', a 1966 film by Russian writer and director

Andrei Tarkovsky Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky (, ; 4 April 1932 – 29 December 1986) was a Soviet film director and screenwriter of Russian origin. He is widely considered one of the greatest directors in cinema history. Works by Andrei Tarkovsky, His films e ...

Reception

In 2014, drownedinsound.com called the album "a masterclass in crafted repose – repeated listens and time spent in its company yielding considerable reward". While Uncut was less impressed: "Midlake's secret is out: they're highly skilled dilettantes, attempting to master a different genre on each album just to give themselves a challenge. That's no crime in itself, and it beats making the same record over and over again, but it may explain the gaping hole at the heart of this strangely frigid album". And Tinymixtapes called it "the first great record of 2010, though one that admittedly requires a little adjusting... I’m not going to say that opener “Acts of Man” — with songwriter Tim Smith's lyric “When all the newness of gold/ Travels far from where anyone’s been/ More like the earth/ Over years” lilting over plucked acoustic guitars and skittering snare — isn't a little ridiculous; the kind of pompous, overblown rock poetry that punk was supposed to have killed. But I'll argue that it serves as an appropriate disclaimer for the album: If you engage in the alien nomenclature — the way most of us have to when we listen to, say, Lil Wayne or Sun Ra — you're in for an incredible listen."

Track listing

All songs written by Tim Smith.

Personnel

Midlake *Tim Smith – vocals, acoustic guitar, flute, recorder, piano, keyboards *Eric Pulido – guitars, dulcimer, autoharp, percussion, backing vocals *Paul Alexander – bass, electric guitar, bassoon *McKenzie Smith – drums, percussion *Eric Nichelson – guitars, autoharp, percussion Other musicians *Max Townsley – electric guitar *Jesse Chandler – harpsichord *Fiona Brice – violin *

Stephanie Dosen Stephanie Dosen (born May 12, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter, knitwear designer and member of the band Snowbird. She was raised in Wisconsin. Her songs have been featured on the soundtracks of the TV shows ''Dawson's Creek'', ''NUMB3RS' ...

– harmony vocals on "Bring Down"

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Courage Of Others 2010 albums Midlake albums Bella Union albums