Day 6 of RED January

 Onward!

The snow was completely gone today, leaving just puddles and mud, although there's more cold weather on its way. I contented myself with a slightly shorter run, not helped by forgetting to start my Garmin until I'd already gone some way. My musical accompaniment was Antiphon, the fourth album by the splendid Midlake, which came out in 2013. I've been listening to this record on and off for over a decade and it's really been a grower, gradually settling into my consciousness as a piece of music I wouldn't want to be without. It's one of those records where, once you've allowed it into your life, you can't imagine how the songs could be ordered in any other way. It's just perfect, seamless, a startlingly coherent creative statement, and all the more wonderful given that it came out a period of disruption in the story of the band. It's also just about the perfect length for a nice run.

I couldn't really tell you what any of the songs are about. They seem to hover just out of reach, implying some ineffable profundity of meaning which hasn't quite revealed itself, but which might do so at any moment. Or they could just be a load of old cobblers. If so, it's still brilliant cobblers. Thank you Midlake (and I like the last album, too, I've just temporarily misplaced it).

Best,

Al