Two Medicine

Named after a region in Glacier National Park, Two Medicine is the psychedelic solo project of Midlake's Paul Alexander. Formed during a period of Midlake's inactivity, Alexander wanted to experiment with arrangements and psychedelic textures in a way that his band could not. Taking inspiration from classics such as Dark Side of the Moon and Pet Sounds, he spent over a year in the studio crafting his own take on psych music, culminating in his 2018 debut album, Astropsychosis. The project originated in 2016 after Midlake decided to take a break after touring their 2013 record Antiphon. Alexander saw this as an opportunity to write music that departed from Midlake's core sound; he also took it as a personal challenge to craft an album as the main driving force. Over the course of 15 months, working out of Midlake's old Denton studio, he began piecing together a full-length record, 2018's Astropsychosis. However, he did have some help along the way from a small cast of musicians, predominantly Eric Nichelson -- the owner of the studio -- who provided moral support and electric guitar, and Jesse Chandler (flute and bass clarinet on two tracks; Midlake, Mercury Rev), Evan Jacobs (keys on one song), and Matt Pence (drums throughout the record). When they were ready to play live, they also drafted Aimee Adams to perform additional vocals. ~ Liam Martin