Denton, Texas' favorite sons Midlake have (finally!) completed their third album The Courage of Others (Bella Union) for a February 2 release. And yes, we're pretty excited about it. The new eleven-track project, originally scheduled for release last year, comes on the heels of their breakout 2006 album The Trials of Van Occupanther, an album that seemed to be a long lost 70's folk/rock epic filed somewhere between Fleetwood Mac's Rumours and Neil Young's Harvest. It was, as you can probably guess, one of our most favorite releases of the year.

The Courage of Others is said to be reflective of a "slightly earlier, and definitely British, trad-tainted folk sound," according to the label. "It may share the same gorgeously analogue-warm electro-acoustic template as Van Occupanther but it’s a slower, darker and more carved record, both eerier and dreamier."Says Midlake mainman Tim Smith, “I don’t feel I’m looking at the songs through someone else’s eyes. I’ve tried to keep it as true to myself as I could.”

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Midlake - "Roscoe" (from the album The Trials of Van Occupanther)