Happy All Saint’s Day! I hope everyone navigated the horrors of Hallowe’en emerging soul intact, and house unhaunted (or at least no more haunted than when the day began).
This next band just played live in my hometown, but unfortunately I already had tickets to the Beaches on the same night. It seems the universe wanted me to listen to them one way or another and contrived to have me roll this next record.
Or, more likely, it was just a random coincidence. Either way, here we are.
Disc 1874 is… Bodies and Minds
Artist: Great Lake Swimmers
Year of Release: 2005
What’s up with the Cover? What could have been a lovely nature photo is marred by someone getting creative. I find this strip-slicing and adjusting about as enjoyable as when Netflix doesn’t load properly, or when my TV pixilates.
How I Came To Know It: Periodically, I dig through my local record store’s bargain bin, where all you see can be had for the low price of $3 per CD. It’s usually a barren wasteland of castaways, but every now and then something intrigues. I already owned (and liked) two later albums by the Great Lake Swimmers, so when I saw this record poking out from the ruins and decided to give it a chance.
How It Stacks Up: I have three Great Lake Swimmers albums. “Bodies and Minds” comes in at #1, bumping 2012’s “New Wild Everywhere” (reviewed back at Disc 966) down to second.
Ratings: 4 stars
Welcome to the intimate and pastoral poetry of the Great Lake Swimmers. If you are feeling the need to chill out and Think Deep Thoughts, you’ve come to the right place.
“Bodies and Minds” is the second album released by this fine collection of indie folk musicians from Ontario, and while early in their career their style and approach to music is already fully realized. Moreover, some of the fuzzier production decisions on later records are not present here, making for a crisper and – to my ear – more accessible and compelling sound.
It all starts with lead singer and songwriter Tony Dekker’s haunting vocals. His voice is incredibly high and breathy, with a tone that is confessional and authentic.
It’s a voice built for artsy and poetic language and Dekker offers plenty of it. The natural world as symphony in “When It Flows”:
“The subtle piano raindrops
The creaking of he buildings and their cellos
The wind was our violin
The sky was a symphony mural of the stars”
Or the seductive directness of “Various Stages”:
“I have seen you in various stages of undress
I have seen you through various states of madness”
The poetry is everywhere and while it sometimes feels a bit university lit, I happen to like university lit, making this a feature not a bug.
Holding and building space around Dekker’s words and vocals is a band that knows how to sit gently in a pocket and create a mood. Nothing is played loud or aggressive, and everyone finds their comfort spot. Well orchestrated and impeccably timed, but less ‘dark suits and straight-backed chairs’ and more ‘t-shirts on the living room couch’.
While Great Lake Swimmings plays as a team, special shout out to Erik Arneson on banjo on this record. On “Let’s Trade Skins” his light but artful touch on the banjo elevates the record and is the perfect counterpoint to Dekker’s high tenor.
“Bodies and Minds” felt different depending on whether I was listening during the day, or at night. By day, it was a quiet walk on the lakeshore, by night the ghostly keen of innermost secrets of the heart. It makes sense, as Dekker consistently draws in the natural world around him and uses it to help interpret whatever musings he may be having. These musings are deep and serious. Not “what shall I have for lunch?” and more “what’s the secret of the universe and how do I fit into it?”
My first coupe of listens to this album were in my rather ‘growly’ car. This is NOT the best way to enjoy any Great Lake Swimmers record. This is music that requires quiet and time for contemplation to steal its way into your heart. Knowing I was missing something, I put some time aside this morning to just grok it on the headphones.
It was a good decision, as that’s how this music is intended. Take your time and let it mist around you.
Best tracks: Let’s Trade Skins, Various Stages, Bodies and Minds, To Leave It Behind, Imaginary Bars, I Saw You In the Wild
No comments:
Post a Comment