Two Medicine – Astropsychosis – Album Review by Killian Laher

Two Medicine is the side project of Midlake bassist Paul Alexander.  It’s in a similar vein to his main band, with the songwriting values carried through.  Opening track SF is fairly representative of the album, a deep 70s soft-rock style song, but with added experimental flourishes.  The musicianship on this album is strong throughout, the foreboding Oblivion features gorgeous guitar picking along with ornate keyboards which work really well on an inventive and unpredictable track.  Will Not conjures up the dreamier and moodier end of Fleetwood Mac.

The poppy Gold has a Granddaddy-gone-baroque feel to it, while also containing the catchiest chorus here.  It sounds like it shouldn’t work but it does.  Elsewhere, An Eye For An I strays into the territory occupied by Elbow, brooding yet uplifting, while the likes of Kuopio and the title track are lush, laid-back soft-rock.

It’s clear from this album that Paul Alexander is a key component of the sound of Midlake.  This is a wonderfully crafted, melodic album that will delight fans waiting for the next Midlake album.

Track List –

1. SF
2. Oblivion
3. Will Not
4. Voice
5. Gold
6. An Eye For An I
7. Astropsychosis
8. Kuopio
9. tmrw

Gold