I’ve been off work for a bit, and that usually means a slowdown in review output (resulting from no commute time for listening). However, the weather this week has meant I’ve been outside shoveling snow and as a result this is my second consecutive day with a new review. Don’t thank me though, thank winter and a long sidewalk.
Disc 1528 is…. Obviously
Artist: Lake Street Dive
Year of Release: 2021
What’s up with the Cover? This picture looks like it was taken not on a beach, but on a soundstage designed to look like a beach. Or maybe some digital background to make it COVID-friendly.
Regardless, the women have dressed for a photo shoot while the men apparently did not get the memo, and just showed up in their t-shirts. Seriously, gentlemen, this cover will be looked at for decades to come. The occasion called for something better than “ill-fitting nineties leisure-wear”.
How I Came To Know It: I’ve been a fan of the band for a while, so this was just me buying their new record when it came out earlier this year.
How It Stacks Up: I have three Lake Street Dive albums. I like them all, but one of them has to land in last place and this is it.
Ratings: 3 stars
Lake Street Dive is one of those bands that just has groove. And not that new-fangled ‘groove’ where indie music meets jazz and gets all meandering and maudlin. I mean that old school groove, the kind you might encounter in a forties swing tune, a finger-snapping sixties doo-wop number or a seventies R&B song that melts your backbone.
A feature common to all Lake Street Dive records is the quality of the musicianship. These guys are all conservatory-trained, which typically means they can play the hell out of their instruments. Sometimes it can also mean the music is so precise that it lacks emotion, but that is not the case here. Lake Street Dive understand that to play this style of pop/R&B requires a natural groove that cannot be taught.
The star of the show is vocalist Rachael Price. Price doesn’t do much of the songwriting (on “Obviously” she has co-credits for two tracks) but she takes these songs into herself and makes them her own. She has the conviction of a Baptist preacher, the soul of Marvin Gaye and the vocal chops of Annie Lennox. Her vocals are big, brassy with a phrasing that naturally sits down in the pocket and matches the groove of the band.
A standout is “Know That I Know” a love song that will have you dancing while you shovel snow (yes I did), and showcasing Price’s range from bold bell-ringing chest voice all the way into her pure and sweet upper register. As infectious as her singing is, however, I don’t recommend you try to sing along. These songs are not for amateurs.
All of the band has some share of the writing responsibilities, with bassist Bridget Kearney and Keyboardist Akie Bermiss doing the majority of the work. Most of the songs feature one of these two collaborating with another band member.
The songs are a mix of smooth grooves and funky rhythms, and despite the many cooks in the writing kitchen (or maybe because of them) the songs all feel cohesive. “Obviously” has more of a focus on social issues than previous records and includes songs about women’s equality (“Being a Woman”) and climate change (“Making Do”) alongside their more traditional fare of songs about love gone right and love gone wrong.
Regardless of subject, the songs hit the right note between having something important to say and making it personal and emotionally evocative. On “Making Do” they do a fine job of relating climate change back to something small and tangible that most of us experience every day:
“To the next generation: Merry Christmas
You’re working harder than ever now and the coffee sucks
You know, Colombia and Kenya got too damn hot
And now you’re making do with what you got.”
Messing with someone’s morning cup-o-Joe is a clever way to bring the issue home.
I continue to struggle with determining my Top 10 of 2021, “Obviously” will probably not make the list. However, it is still a good record, and the band is still pumping out quality music and continuing to grow artistically. I look forward to what they get up to next.
Best tracks: Being a Woman, Making Do, Nobody’s Stopping You Now, Know That I Know
No comments:
Post a Comment