A Bridge to Far, the sixth album from the Texan outfit Midlake, is their most consistent and assured-sounding yet.
The title of Midlake‘s latest album, A Bridge to Far, may have some grammarians scratching their heads in puzzlement. Still, it is intended as a play on words, signifying a hopeful path or bridge to a better place. An overwhelming message of hope – allied to meditations on mortality, change, and renewal – forms the emotional core of this album, arguably Midlake’s best since the band first formed some twenty-three years ago.
Opening number – and second single from the record – Days Gone By – with its fluted intro, is almost a cappella during its first half, before it reaches lift-off around the midpoint of the song. A simple yet dreamy-sounding number, it nicely juxtaposes personal struggle against the eternal rhythms of the natural world. Its second line “days gone by with the sun, and the moon, and the skies” repeated throughout the whole song – this repetition helping to provide an underlying sense of unity. Its trance-like feel sets the tone perfectly for the rest of the album.
The title track, A Bridge To Far, with its gorgeous layered harmonies, is one of several real standouts on the record, its uplifting message encouraging the listener to “go anywhere your heart desires”. Other songs that reach a similar high point are Guardians, featuring guest vocals from Madison Cunningham. The lovely call-and-response arrangement she shares with lead singer Eric Pulido has a real dynamic; the counterpoint in their vocal styles brings a sense of warmth and emotional heft to the song. The final single from the record, Eyes Full of Animal, is perhaps even better; its lyrics speak to a sense of inner conflict and discomfort, somewhat at odds with its three-line chorus, which soars to ever-greater heights. That same sense of tension is matched by the lead single, The Ghouls, whose swirling instrumentation, propulsive energy, and moody undercurrent create an intense atmosphere in a suitably understated way.
The significant feat of the record throughout is its sense of spontaneity. Recorded at The Echo Lab in Denton, Texas, and produced by Sam Evian, the sessions for A Bridge To Far were said to have been instinctive and unforced. And it shows – with pretty much all songs on the record feeling both atmospheric and grounded, the band achieves a fairly effortless groove throughout.
Tracks like The Calling, on which Jesse Chandler (recently interviewed here) and Sam Evian’s duelling saxophones bring forth an unexpected burst of colour, and Within/Without are built around meditative repetition, and gradually build layers of sound, giving them hypnotic momentum. One of the album’s most persuasive traits is in its use of restraint: there’s little gratuitous showmanship here. Arrangements often favour more subtle textures – through the use of flutes, tremolo guitars, and soft backing harmonies – over flashy soloing.
It’s not hard to see why the band considers the concluding number, Valley of Roseless Thorns, to be a particularly emotional touchstone, reflecting the band’s own truths in veiled poetic form. It’s a charming conclusion to this deeply affecting album, on which human emotion, particularly hope in the face of adversity, is foregrounded against the rhythms of the natural world; it feels both personal to the band and also universally relatable.
Midlake has long balanced pastoral folk, soft psychedelia, and progressive undertones; here, they lean more into spaciousness, allowing simplicity and room for silence to carry significant weight. With For The Sake of Bethel Woods proving something of a return to form in 2022 after a lengthy hiatus of seven years, you have to hope that Midlake can consolidate themselves with this release and achieve the sort of recognition they gained when The Trials of Van Occupanther first burst onto the music scene back in 2006.
A Bridge to Far (November 7th, 2025) Bella Union
Pre-Order A Bridge Too Far: https://ffm.to/abridgetofar
Midlake UK & EU 2026 Tour:
31st January – Sunderland – The Fire Station
1st February – Birmingham – Moseley Folk & Arts All-dayer
3rd February – Manchester – Gorilla *(Sold Out!)*
4th February – Leeds – Brudenell Social Club *(Sold Out!)*
5th February – Bristol – Thekla *(Sold Out!)*
6th February – London – Electric Ballroom
7th February – Brighton – Chalk
9th February – Ghent – Wintercircus
10th February – Amsterdam – Paradiso
11th February – Paris – Alhambra
12th February – Geneva – Festival Antigel