THE MIDDLE EAST – I WANT THAT YOU ARE ALWAYS HAPPY
Recorded in part in Queensland and part in Midlake’s Texas studios, The Middle East have taken the “difficult” second album and made life even harder for themselves. Rather than take the easy parth, a coat-tails ride on the neu-alt-folk wagon, or building on their earlier radio play, the band have instead chosen to broaden their scope and wander across the musical landscape in search of further adventures. Much as As I Go To See Janey hints at the theme to Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, I Want That You Are Always Happy covers almost as much territory as Arthur Phillip Dent. From the lilting English folk of Janey to the haunting and achingly beautiful piano and voice of My Grandma Was Pearl Hall, from the neu-wave jazz-rock of Mount Morgan End to the sweet pop of the first single Jesus Came to My Birthday Party; this album is galactic in its scope. As such it does require you to strap yourself in and go along for the ride, leave your preconceptions well behind you and enjoy the ride. The album ends with two tracks that exemplifies this, the simple acoustic strum of Deep Water, an eight minute album highlight, followed by the reprise Mount Morgan End – an sprawling saxophone-led instrumental that sits at the outer limits of The Middle East owes much to The Laughing Clowns. Forty-Two.
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