Midlake is an American rock band from Denton, Texas, that formed in 1999. T… Read Full Bio ↴Midlake is an American rock band from Denton, Texas, that formed in 1999. The band first gained popularity in Europe.

Midlake began in 1999 by a group of jazz students at the University of North Texas. The original lineup consisted of Tim Smith (vocals, guitars, keyboards), McKenzie Smith (drums), Paul Alexander (bass), Eric Nichelson (guitar), and Evan Jacobs (keyboards). Their initial work (under the working name The Cornbread All-Stars) consisted of funk/jazz explorations heavily influenced by Herbie Hancock.

Later the band began to lean more toward an indie rock sound. Tim Smith quit playing saxophone and began writing songs that were heavily influenced by bands such as Jethro Tull, Radiohead, Travis, and Grandaddy. Smith says about that: "We don't want to get called a Radiohead rip-off band. I think Radiohead is a lot closer to my natural tendencies as a songwriter than a band like, um, Jethro Tull. I listen to way more Jethro Tull than I do Radiohead these days, but I could write 10 Radiohead songs before I could write one Jethro Tull song. I want to sound more like Jethro Tull, but I just can't. That's a big struggle."

Jacobs left the band and Eric Nichelson took over on keyboard. Jason Upshaw joined the band as a guitarist. Live recordings from this period, recorded at Denton's Panhandle House studio, were never released as the band felt they had moved beyond the material.

Soon before their debut EP, Milkmaid Grand Army, was recorded, Upshaw was replaced on guitars by Eric Pulido, a longtime friend of drummer Smith, to form the current lineup. Their debut full-length album, 2004's Bamnan and Slivercork, was recorded at home in Denton, Texas and mastered at Abbey Road Studios. It showed a move in the direction of lo-fi psychedelic electronica, embracing influences such as Grandaddy and The Flaming Lips. The album even caught the ear of skateboarder-turned-actor Jason Lee, who produced and directed the music video for the song 'Balloon Maker', and who continues to support and promote the band.

In 2006, after nearly a year and a half of recording and re-recording, they completed their second release for Bella Union – The Trials of Van Occupanther. The album was met with generally positive reviews.

The 3rd album release by the band is called The Courage of Others. It was released on February 1, 2010. The album sleeve pays homage to Andrei Rublev, a 1966 film by Russian writer and director Andrei Tarkovsky.

In this album Smith focusing on the human condition, death, courage (as per the album’s title), and nature. The band put aside the wonderfully corny synthesizers they used on the last record in favor of a 100-percent organic approach that fits their bearded poets of the mountain image. The album received overwhelmingly positive review.

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It's Going Down
Midlake Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

With the wine gone
What remains is that of woe
Will the darkness fade
Or arrive upon the morrow

It's going down

And with light shown

To reveal a land hollow
All will fall away
Left to find what is to follow

It's going down
It's going down

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Midlake's song "It's Going Down" present an image of despair and uncertainty. The first verse describes how, once the wine is gone, all that is left is "woe," or sorrow. The singer wonders whether darkness will pass or continue into the next day. The chorus repeats the phrase "It's going down," implying that some kind of disaster or collapse is imminent. In the second verse, the singer references "light" showing a "land hollow," suggesting a lack of substance or meaning in the world. All things will "fall away," leaving only "what is to follow." The song creates a sense of impending doom and questions what will happen when everything falls apart.

One interpretation of the lyrics is that they speak to the fragility of human existence and the inevitability of change. The alcohol-fueled party eventually comes to an end, and the singer reflects on what will happen once the revelry dies down. The darkness and light imagery suggest a struggle between good and evil, hope and despair, with no clear outcome in sight. The repetition of the phrase "It's going down" hints at a sense of foreboding, as if the singer knows something bad is coming but can't quite put their finger on what it is.

Line by Line Meaning

With the wine gone
Having consumed all the wine, now only remains the misery of reality

What remains is that of woe
Only sadness and misfortune remain

Will the darkness fade
Will the despair dissipate and happiness return

Or arrive upon the morrow
Or will it all get worse with tomorrow's arrival

It's going down
Things are getting worse and there's no stopping it

And with light shown
As the light exposes what was hidden

To reveal a land hollow
The land is barren and empty of its former beauty

All will fall away
Everything will crumble and disappear

Left to find what is to follow
Left to discover what the future holds

It's going down
The situation is deteriorating further

It's going down
Reinforcing the idea that things are getting worse