Tuesday 29/06/10 Midlake, John Grant @ Leadmill, Sheffield

Were there ever an investigation into the disappearance of Midlake’s soft-rocking splendour, the prime suspect would be John Grant.

Backed by Midlake, Grant’s deservedly praised debut solo effort Queen of Denmark lifts their sun-baked 70’s-style West Coast vibes, with lyrics that catalogue a lifetime’s worth of woe with a judiciously balanced mix of self-laceration and hard-won humour adding the necessary bite to the smooth settings. At turns witty and heartfelt, the result is a seriously
beautiful album that renders the obscurity Grant’s toiled under so far even more inexplicable.

Tonight’s brief set doesn’t quite match the magic of the album. Grant’s honeyed, bruised croon is nothing short of mesmeric, seemingly emerging from a more fragile figure than the tall, scruffily bearded man clutching the microphone. The songwriter – slightly tentative on one of his first gigs after a lengthy hiatus from music following the break-up of former band The Czars – appears genuinely moved by the enthusiastic reception of the near-capacity crowd. But Grant’s new touring band is at times too heavy-handed – the hypnotic Marz stomps instead of soaring, whilst Where Dreams Go to Die swaps wings for heavy boots. The result is an uneven set that doesn’t do full justice to Grant’s superb songs and singing.

With the four guitarists in the expanded seven-piece live line-up seemingly intent on swapping any hint of nuances for a leaden prog-folk thud during Winter Dies, Midlake launch into their set proving you ignore the essential truth of the saying about too many cooks spoiling the broth at your peril. Add to this the less appealing aspects of the band’s current folk rock-influenced incarnation – at least one guitarist more than is strictly necessary, two flutists twirling away incessantly, a newfound appreciation of Jethro Tull, and it’s hard not to brace yourself for a messy evening.

But just as the band’s slow-burning latest album The Courage of Others requires patience to reveal its full riches, the Denton, Texas band’s improves with age. Often criticised for being too rigidly beholden to their influences (vintage soft-rock for 2006’s Trials of Van Occupanther, more recently late-60’s British folk-rock), tonight’s excellent set finds the band
loosen up, creating a captivating sound of their own in the process.

In full flight, Midlake turn the new album’s stark, sombre laments for a ravaged ecology and a lost way of life into genuinely thrilling, moving anthems, adding blazing multicolour to the compelling monochrome of their studio counterparts. A spirited, loose-limbed rendition of crowd favourite Roscoe even adds a previously unthinkable addition to the band’s arsenal by being unmistakably funky, prompting even front man Tim Smith – a musician hitherto more at home in the studio than on stage – to grin and bust a few rock ‘n’ roll moves.

The generously whiskered outfit remain rooted in the past. On tonight’s evidence, however, they are setting out to explore previously uncharted territory.