Sembra di essere in quel petulante spot televisivo..
Mi stendo sul lettino, e la voce dello strizzacervelli mi chiede: "Se dico Texas, qual'è la prima cosa che ti viene in mente?".
1a sinapsi: G.W. Bush (mio dio.. faccio finta di niente!)
2a sinapsi: Il nuovo menù del McDonald's (no, devo pur darmi un tono..)
3a sinapsi: ecco ci sono.. i Midlake!
Questa non te l'aspettavi eh?? Chissà cosa direbbe Freud..
Chi sono i Midlake? Quintetto texano al loro secondo album: "The Trials of van occupanther" (il primo album "Banman and Silvercock" registrato nel 2004 agli Abbey Road Studios -vero è che dopo Cesare Cremonini può farlo chiunque-) Perchè recensire questo album? Innanzitutto per la copertina che mi ha subito colpito: un omino giallo che sembra appena uscito dal villaggio di Shyamalan che fissa con un'espressione assente e inebetita un essere metà uomo-meta (cosa?), che mi ricorda un minotauro caposseliano ripulito e rinsecchito (ho una fervida immaginazione, lo so).. Bah..
La prima canzone "Roscoe" vale tutto l'album: tastiere, chitarra e bassi quasi sussurrano per lasciare spazio a una voce calda e avvolgente, capace di anestetizzarti. A seguire "Head Home", "Bandits", e arrivata solo alla quarta canzone "Van occupanther " (l'essere antropomorfo della copertina) mi accorgo di avere la stessa espressione inebetita dell'omino giallo! C'è qualcosa in questa strana creatura che mi attrae e mi rilassa.. mi fa stare bene. Il cantante Tim Smith ha dichiarato di aver subito influenze da Fleetwood Mac e da Joni Mitchell...
Piuttosto suggerirei, per farvi avere un'idea della loro musica, di prendere i Flaming Lips, gli Sparklehorse, il citatissimo Grandaddy (che ormai è il nonno un pò di tutti) e c'è chi addirittura suggerisce il Thom Yorke dei tempi di "The Bends" (questo però lo prenderei con le pinze), e di chiuderli in un bucolico ranch..
Comincerete a farvi un'idea dei Midlake. Insomma, "The Trials Of Ven Occupanther" è il classico cd che ti fa venire voglia di metteri in macchina e di guidare.. anche solo per investire lo strizzacervelli!
Elenco tracce testi samples e video
01 Roscoe (04:49)
Stonecutters made them from stones
Chosen specially for you and I
Who will live inside
The mountaineers gathered tinder
Piled high
In which to take along.
Driving many miles, knowing they'd get here.
When they got here, all exhausted
On the roof leaks they got started
And now when the rain comes
We can be thankful
Ooh aah ooh
When the mountaineers
Saw that everything fit, they were
Glad and so they took off
Thought we were due for
A change or two
Around this place
When they get back they're all mixed up with no one to stay with
The village used to be all one really needs
That's filled with hundreds and hundreds of
Chemicals that mostly surround you
You wish to flee but it's not like you
to listen to me, listen to me
Oh, oh, oh and when the morning comes,
We will step outside
We will not find another man in sight
We like the newness, the newness of all
That has grown in our garden soaking for so long
Whenever 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 Rosaline
Thought we were due for
A change or two
Around this place
When they get back they're all mixed up with no one to stay with
1891
They roamed around and foraged
They made their house from cedars
They made their house from stones
Oh, they're a little like you, and
They're a little like me
We have all we need
Thought we were due for
A change or two
Around this place
(This place)
(This place)
When they get back they're all mixed up with no one to stay with
(When they get back they're all mixed up with no one to stay with)
02 Bandits (04:04)
Did you ever want to be overrun by bandits;
to hand over all of your things and start over new?
while we were out hunting for food
our house was being robbed
I caught an apple and she caught a fox
so I caught a rabbit but she caught an ox
so upon our return, we found everything gone
which for us was no loss
and we started over
with a rabbit and an ox
so they came down from the north
carrying all they owned
with a basket full of food and clothes
they were stopped by a weekend raid
traveling the woods one day
they tried to put up a fight, but lost
so we asked for them to stay
with us on their way
to have a drink and rest
and regain their strength
did you ever want to run around with bandits;
to see many places and hide in ditches?
it's not always easy, it's not always easy
when the winter comes and the greenery goes
we will make some shelter
when the winter comes and the greenery goes
we will make some shelter
03 Head Home (05:45)
No one seems to be around today
They must've all gone off without me again
I think I'll head home
Maybe I'll find them gathered 'round my doorstep
Oh, to sleep in a comfortable bed
I think I'll head home
No one seems to be around today
They must've all gone off without me again
I think I'll head home
I think I'll head home
Bring me a day full of honest work
and a roof that never leaks
I'll be satisfied
Bring me the news all about the town
How it struggles to help all the farmers out
During harvest time
But there's someone I'd like to see
She never mentions a word to me
She reads Leviathan
I think I'll head home
I think I'll head home
I think I'll head home
Bring me a day full of honest work
and a roof that never leaks
I'll be satisfied
Bring me the news all about the town
How it struggles to help all the farmers out
During harvest time
But there's someone I'd like to see
She never mentions a word to me
She reads Leviathan
I think I'll head home
I think I'll head home
I think I'll head home
I think I'll head home
I think I'll head home
I think I'll head home
I think I'll head home
I think I'll head home
04 Van Occupanther (03:15)
I must be careful now in my steps
Years of calculations and the stress
My science is waiting, nearly complete
One glass will last for nearly a week
Let me not get down from walking with no-one
and if I stumble from exhaustion
These buckets are heavy, I fill them with water
I could ask these people, but I shouldn't bother
Oh no, I've stumbled, was I going too fast?
Some get angry, some of them laugh
They told me I wouldn't, but I found an answer
I'm Van Occupanther, I'm Van occupanther!
Let me not be too consumed with this world
Sometimes I want to go home
and stay out of sight for a long time
Let me not be too consumed with this world
Sometimes I want to go home
and stay out of sight for a long time
05 Young Bride (04:56)
My young bride,
why are your shoulders like that
of a tired old woman,
like a tired old woman?
My young bride,
why are your fingers like that
of the hedge in winter,
of the hedge in winter?
Polonaise in winter,
snowshoes and hunters
carried the goods in for you.
My young bride,
why aren't you moving at all,
helps to make the day seem shorter,
helps to make the day seem shorter.
My young bride,
Why aren't you keeping with you
all the ones who really love you,
all the ones who really love you?
Polonaise in winter,
snowshoes and hunters
carried the goods in for you.
Darkness and forests grant you
the longest
face made for porridge and stew.
06 Branches (05:03)
I saw she was living under some branches
I saw she was happy in her circumstances
I also live under branches
I'd rather not live in these places
We won't get married
'Cause she won't have me
She wakes up awfully early these days, these days
And there's no-one else so kind
There's no-one else to find
It's hard for me but I'm trying
It's hard for me but I'm trying
I saw she was busy gathering wood for a fire
I'd like to help her some but she replies it's done
We won't get married
'Cause she won't have me
She wakes up awfully early these days, these days
And there's no-one else so kind
There's no-one else to find
It's hard for me but I'm trying
It's hard for me but I'm trying
It's hard for me but I'm trying (It's hard for me but I'm trying)
It's hard for me but I'm trying (It's hard for me but I'm trying)
07 In This Camp (05:44)
In this camp there's one who delights me
Brings me afternoon tea then she leaves me
When they're climbing over the sea
She helps to keep our strength complete
But I'd rather stay
'Cause the north is too far away
I wanted to marry Babette
And the weapons on my shoulders
I'd throw into seaweed banks
And the willows and the lime-trees
Were gathered there for us
Above the unconquered seas
Unconquered seas
There's the horn call
Put your boots and courage on and run
I wanted to marry Babette
And the weapons on my shoulders
I'd throw into seaweed banks
And the willows and the lime-trees
Were gathered there for us
Above the unconquered seas
Unconquered seas
I'm counting up all the lovely years
Since I had stepped inside
With the others in this lonely field
Who I fought beside
They mustn’t mind
They must let me go to find
A site for my retire
Will this war
Capture your heart or more
And carry you down the shore
'Cause the north is too far away
I wanted to marry Babette
And the weapons on my shoulders
I'd throw into seaweed banks
And the willows and the lime-trees
Were gathered there for us
Above the unconquered seas
And the willows and the lime-trees
Were gathered there for us
Above the unconquered seas
08 We Gathered in Spring (03:33)
I'm tired of being here
On this hill
No-one lives to be three hundered years
Like the way it used to be
I think they were giants
I think they were giants
On this hill, nothing grows except greed
You will stay to finish your work
As long as need be
As long as need be
On a clear day
I can see my old house
and my wife in the front yard
Talking with the friends
We gathered in spring
We gathered in spring
We gathered in spring
We gatehred in spring
I'm tired of being here
On this hill
Where I'm sure to find my last meal
No-one lives to be three hundred years
On a clear day
I can see my old house
and my wife in the front yard
Talking with the friends
We gathered in spring
We gathered in spring
We gathered in spring
We gatehred in spring
09 It Covers the Hillsides (03:13)
It covers the roadways
It covers the hillsides
It covers the houses
It covers the frozen pines
We had the snowfall
To run all the rations dry
When we got hungry
We'd taken what wasn't ours
Now we will set out
The seats are cold on this boat
As we head towards the ocean, towards the ocean
Making our way out
Trying to survive
As we head our towards the ocean
I'm not sure where this river goes
But we have no choice but to follow
There is smoke in the sky over those trees
Let us hope they are kind to you and me
Let us hope, let us hope they have enough
Winter comes it sure is rough
Maybe they'll welcome us
We won't ask much
But their rations were low
And they couldn't help us
So off we go
It covers the roadways
It covers the hillsides
It covers the houses
It covers the frozen pines
Now we will set out
The seats are cold on this boat
As we head towards the ocean
Making our way out
Trying to survive
As we head our towards the ocean
Towards the ocean, towards the ocean
Towards the ocean, towards the ocean
10 Chasing After Deer (02:42)
Yes I'm sorry that I missed you
I'm sorry that I missed you
When there's no-one there to greet you
I'm sorry that I missed you
You're always chasing after deer
Oh my dear, oh my dear
And through the meadow I can hear
My fears, oh my fears
For myself I must remind
That the woods are usually kind
And the sea is not mine
And when you're all alone
And chasing after deer
Don't be upset if it's scared
And you can't reach it
I know that you are fast
But it's much faster
And after a while you can't keep up
So you start to lag behind
But it doesn't know
That you've resigned
So off a cliff
It falls to the sea
And you are sad
But the sea is not mine
The sea is not mine, the sea is not mine
The sea is not mine, the sea is not mine
11 You Never Arrived (01:43)
I untied all the rope lines
I gathered our things
And placed them beside me
You never arrived
And I got worried
You never arrived
And I was troubled
But you were bound to leave
And so I crumbled
You should steer
The seats are warm in this boat
Come on and hurry move your feet
Down the shore that winter had a hold on
And we'll pass by
For the last time
We'll pass by for the last time
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