Great Lake Swimmers – Caught Light
In the tradition of some of the great melodically driven rock bands of the late ‘60s & ‘70s is this mature pop-durable band that blends wonderful tunes with harmonic vocals. The instrumentation is tight, musical & streamlined. No over indulgence. Bands like the Dream Academy, Balloon, The Mighty Lemon Drops & the Woodentops once mined this territory with brilliance. The Great Lake Swimmers seem to understand that tradition – though more than likely they never heard of those bands. The vocalists often adopt a whispery approach, with little in the way of aggressiveness. While their lyrics aren’t prophetic the simplicity is superb. “Wrong, Wrong, Wrong” finds lead vocalist/songwriter Tony Dekker (acoustic guitar/harmonica) speaking directly to the listener rather than singing in a verbose style.
Some songs (“Youth Not Wasted”) even have a throwback to the warm stylization of the Irish group Prayer Boat led by Emmett Tinley & the moody laid-back noir strains of the Scottish band the Blue Nile. The award-winning Great Lake Swimmers do an admirable job of maintaining that continuity. The Southern Ontario trio focuses reliably on atmospheric music with a rural flavor but more with rural Euro elements rather than American country waves. There are many pastoral shadings in these 10 tunes on the band’s 9th album Caught Light (Dropped Oct 10/Independent) produced by Darcy Yates.
A little more commercially attractive the mainstream sitar-sounding “Running Out of Time,” remarkably has a retro sound that doesn’t necessarily sound vintage. It’s actually refreshing. Credit the voices & arrangement. This sounds more like a Beatle (George Harrison) left-over from the White Album era than many of the actual Beatle out-takes. The band doesn’t embody a sameness throughout their repertoire. They smartly manage to produce songs that are unique despite the lucid Prayer Boat-Blue Nile complexion. Nice clean harmonies (The Association from the ‘60s) inhabit the title track “Caught Light” which is played with more pizzazz & George Harrison-oriented lead guitar.
While “All the Best” is rather plain there’s a gentle quality to the ringing, chiming guitars & the almost lullaby-vocals that turn an elementary song into a beauty. The band is over 20 years old, so while they have a floating membership these musicians are not novices – they have a credible track record, a good sound & career. Let’s hope whatever holds them together is secured & tight.
Highlights- “One More Dance Around the Sun,” “Wrong, Wrong, Wrong,” “Youth Not Wasted,” “Endless Detours,” “Running Out of Time,” “Caught Light,” & “All the Best.”
Musicians – Gary Craig (drums), Colleen Brown (bgv), & Bowskill (pedal steel & electric guitar guitars/mandolin/fiddle/bouzouki).
Color image courtesy of Robert Georgeff. CD @ Bandcamp & https://greatlakeswimmers.com/
