I went to a party with a bunch of friends from church one weekend in January. We all went to one of the friend's farmhouse near Cuba, MO and played poker and ate barbecue. We all got to sleep in the next morning, because our kids were at home with our wives. In the morning, the host gave me a CD compilation of his favorite songs of 2006. Apparently, he does this every year. Given the well organized liner notes he provided with the CD, I believe that he really does.

One of the songs on the CD was "Roscoe" by Midlake, from their album "The Trials of Van Occupanther." It's a weird name, but so what?

It was the song that really stood out from the rest as I listened through all 15 or so tracks. My first impression matched the description in the liner notes: "Sounds like Fleetwood Mac, Neil Young." True, but not a clone, all at the same time.

So I headed over to the Midlake website, and found that they had six complete tracks available there for my listening pleasure. I listened to them. Over and over again. And again. And again.

So I finally ordered the CD from Amazon. It took FOREVER to arrive, but it finally did.

This is what I think.

Van Occupanther is a work of poetry as much as it is one of music. Each song features a meandering melody, with lyrics that shouldn't be able to fit into the music and flow smoothly at the same time, but somehow achieve that very thing. Tim Smith massages his words into the meandering melodies with a fluidity that I still find hard to believe after more than ten complete listens through the album.

What keeps me going back and listening, aside from the tightly knit harmonies and melismas, is the story of VanOccupanther itself. Smith's lyrics are intelligent, a bit cryptic, and they create a whole, incredibly immersive world. I won't tell you what images come to my mind as I listen, because I'd prefer for you to listen and judge for yourself. But, let me say that the cover art matches perfectly what I see as I listen to the story.

I'm still not certain that the whole album is a continuous story. I need to spend more time with the lyric sheet before I'll know for sure. But I'm betting it is.

So that's the review. I've not mentioned any songs by name, save "Roscoe" above, and I won't. There are some that I love, and some that I only like. There are no songs on the record that I dislike. That said, I can't give it a stronger recommendation.

Go pick it up and give it a listen. It runs about 45 minutes in length, which is perfect, and if you listen carefully, there'll be something new each time you listen.

*OK. Umphrey's McGee is still my favorite band, but I'm infatuated with Midlake at the moment. Once they build up their catalog a bit, they might steal my affection. But they lack one thing that I really value: instrumental virtuosity.