Our Track by Track feature provides artists a space to share the stories behind each song on their latest release. Today, Midlake frontman Eric Pulido takes a deep dive into the band’s new LP, For the Sake of Bethel Woods. The band is also taking over our Instagram on Friday (March 28th), and you can follow along here.
Midlake are back today with For the Sake of Bethel Woods, the band’s first new album since 2013.
To record the album, Midlake brought in an outside producer for the first time: Grammy winner John Congleton, who is known for working with St. Vincent, Explosions in the Sky, and Sharon Van Etten. The Texas folk band’s return comes after a much-needed “indefinite pause” from 2014 to 2020 allowing each member to focus on outside projects and their personal lives.
As frontman Eric Pulido tells Consequence, a visit from member Jesse Chandler’s late father in a dream gave the group the final push to reconvene. “I wanted to invest myself in other endeavors both musically and personally, and I didn’t think it would be possible for all those things, plus Midlake, to coexist,” he remembers. “What ultimately brought us back [was] our respective desire to reunite, most beautifully referenced in Jesse’s dream about his late father encouraging him to do so.”
Upon their return to the studio, the band demonstrated their willingness to embrace new approaches to songwriting on tracks like “Glistening,” “Exile,” and “Gone,” while also staying true to their origins on songs like “Feast of Carrion.” Stream For the Sake of Bethel Woods and read Pulido’s Track by Track breakdown below.
Midlake are also embarking on a 2022 tour in support of For the Sake of Bethel Woods; you can get tickets here.
