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10.0
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The Independent
...an album that's like a dark cloak in which to envelop oneself, a comforting warmth to ward off life's tribulations. And the first truly great release of the year
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10.0
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The Times
It takes all of one, maybe two minutes in the company of the Texas quintet’s third album to realise that there has been a breathtaking transformation since The Trials of Van Occupanther
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9.0
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music OMH
This could well be Midlake's masterpiece, which is saying something considering the esteem in which The Trials Of Van Occupanther is held
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9.0
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The Music Fix
They couldn’t have produced a follow up any better than this. While some of the mystery might have gone, infatuation is replaced with a more committed love. This one’s a keeper
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9.0
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Independent on Sunday
Is TCOO a classic? If that means modern and timeless simultaneously, then no one who hears it can be in any doubt. Me, I've listened to little else in months
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9.0
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The Observer
Fusing Nick Drake, Steeleye Span, Jethro Tull and even Gabriel-era Genesis with the tougher burr of Texan indie? It's a miraculous alchemy
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9.0
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The Fly
The warm, enveloping, hypnotic spell it weaves may well be the perfect sound to hibernate to, but come the spring it will still be on The Fly’s stereo. And in the summer, autumn, winter and spring again
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9.0
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The Quietus
...it is one of the most rewarding pieces of music (and I treat it as one) that one could possibly encounter in the contemporary idiom. Old fashioned, yes... perversely so
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8.0
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Q
Print edition only
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8.0
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Mojo
Print edition only
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8.0
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State
Time will tell if The Courage of Others is a classic, but it’s certainly a timeless album and a wonderful third release from the talented Texans
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8.0
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NME
For proof that Midlake have much more than tie-dye, peyote-spiked muesli and a thing for running naked through the woods at midnight to offer though, just listen to ‘The Horn’’s heavy, -esque intro. Now this is why nobody messes with Texas
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8.0
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Drowned In Sound
When it all comes together ... the results are mesmerising
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8.0
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The Guardian
The more you bury yourself in it, the more Smith seems to shun you, incanting again and again a desire for solitude and escape from the wrongs of humankind
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8.0
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Daily Telegraph
A palette of folk music colours – washes of flute and Tim Smith’s plaintive voice – combine to evoke a beautiful air of desolation
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8.0
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Evening Standard
In short, The Courage of Others is a peach of a record but I find it fiendishly difficult to remember whose name appears on the tin
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8.0
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Tiny Mix Tapes
The Courage of Others is the first great record of 2010, though one that admittedly requires a little adjusting
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7.5
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The Line Of Best Fit
The problem – if you can call it a problem – is that things never really get going. The whole affair is played out at such measured pace and volume that it’s easy to let it pass you by
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7.0
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Rave Magazine
The Courage Of Others lacks the immediacy of Van Occupanther, and it doesn’t really have another Roscoe (Core Of Nature comes closest), but it’s a quality release with its own quiet strength
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7.0
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FasterLouder
Midlake have delivered a curious album that on the first few listens is an underwhelming affair. Persevere though and some gentle gems will start to push through the cracks
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7.0
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Clash
‘The Courage Of Others’ is a suitable album for today’s perma-frost Britain
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7.0
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Sydney Morning Herald
There are none of the almost exultant tunes that dotted Van Occupanther, such as that album's Roscoe or Bandits. However, the more you stay in the Midlake forest, the more you see the wood and the trees, the darkness and the prettiness
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7.0
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Pop Matters
Midlake doesn’t up the ante with The Courage of Others, but they show a contemplative side that still makes a strong album
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6.0
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Uncut
The Courage Of Others is texturally rich and technically refined, elegantly capturing the ambience of the folk rock scene to which it pays fulsome tribute. But sadly, there's something cold and unwelcoming at its core
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6.0
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Observer Music Monthly
Print edition only
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6.0
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Spin
...these new old-sounding songs gradually burrow into your consciousness, despite lacking the occasional cheery hooks that made Occupanther so alluring
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5.2
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onethirtybpm
Not a bad album by any means; none of the tracks are annoying or downright terrible, they just suffer from being completely forgettable
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5.0
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Rolling Stone
Midlake's abstracted invocations of maidens, merchant ships and "ancient light" feel a bit bookish and distant
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4.0
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No Ripcord
...the vast majority of The Courage of Others is just cripplingly boring. It contains all of the pomp and bloat that most people remember of Jethro Tull and leaves out all of the texture and dynamics that most people forget
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4.0
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The Sunday Times
...a difficult album to engage with. Confirmed fans may find it grows on them, but it’s unlikely to win new admirers
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3.6
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Pitchfork
With precious little exception, these songs are just so wispy, and the band's treatment of them so delicate, it turns Courage into a museum piece, stuffy, bloodless... there's no bite to any of it, no intensity, precious little conveyance of emotion
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