Owen Lake and the Tragic Loves Bury Deep My Heart
A new album by Owen Lake is freshly available this week, Bury Deep My Heart. At 13 songs, the commitment and breadth of Owen Lake’s work and inventive capabilities is solidly showcased here.
Owen Lake is the stage name of Jeff Snyder, who is the the Director of Electronic Music at Princeton University, where he operates the Princeton Laptop Orchestra and heads up the New Instrument Research Lab. Owen Lake’s new album features some of the electronic instruments invented by Snyder, including the electrosteel (which recently appeared on albums by Noah Cyrus and Orville Peck). The sound created by these instruments in the songs on this album is a blend of country and electronics – “electro-country” as it’s aptly named – and the results are fun, contemporary, fresh sounding songs to very enjoyable effect.
“Cheat To Win” sets the pace for the album with its snappy rhythm with flourishes of violin and pedal steel, in a song about considering an affair: “I wager you think you should keep the sure thing / Play the hand you were dealt—the one wearing his ring / If you tell me to fold, I’ll turn these chips in / But if you join me, we’ll cheat to win. (come on darlin’) ” It’s an interesting set up of countrified swirls and a more modern vocal delivery and snappy drums as it moves in and out of older style country and contemporary moments.
“Second Time Around” connects again as a country song with motivating harmonies, but as before, the rhythms shift in and out and even with the pedal steel it wouldn’t be mistaken for old time country – and yet it still feels exactly like it.
Later on “I Got On This Airplane (Just to Cry)” it’s a cowboy’s brokenhearted lament but on an airplane instead: “You packed a single suitcase, no room inside for blame / And left behind the baggage you don’t intend to claim / You asked me not to follow—and believe me, I won’t try / I got on this airplane just to cry.”
A highly unique video is out for the song “Let’s Go Back” – with dinosaurs and claymation guitars: “Let’s go back to the point of forgiveness, let’s go back and pretend that I stayed.” The kitchy nature of the imagery is perfectly representative of the overall vibe of the album, in ways that are hard to put your finger on.
“Blawenburg Blomp” showcases the musicianship and what Owen Lake is capable of. The complexity holds steady as it rises through a near-bluegrass celebratory whirl.
This music is being dubbed “electro-country” but it’s not electronica. These songs demonstrate a degree of genius all throughout as they somehow tap into a country feel while weaving in and out of very modern sounds and delivery and using upbeat rhythms mixed with slow swirling more traditional country and Western sounds.
At times the feeling is theatrical – think Will Wood for anyone familiar. But countrified. It’s all little retro with modern electronic overlay and the result is fresh songs that at the same time immediately feel familiar and classic. Find more information here on his website: https://owenlake.com
Musicians on Bury Deep My Heart are Owen Lake on vocals, vocoder, electric guitars, 6-string bass, synth, Electrobass, and drum programming; Anica Mrose Rissi on fiddles and background vocals; Mike Clevidence Robinson on pedal steel guitar; Mark Eichenberger on acoustic drums and aux percussion; Domenica Romagni on vocals and background vocals; Tubey Frank on background vocals; Dave van Allen on pedal steel guitar; Pamela Stein Lynde on vocals and background vocals; Rich Hinman on pedal steel guitar and electric guitar; Andrew Friedman on electric guitar; Pamela Stein Lynde on background vocals; Tubey Frank on background vocals; Eddy Dunlap on pedal steel guitar; Kelly Doyle on electric guitar; Nikolai Margulis on banjo; Morgan Harris on electric guitar and 6-string bass; Chapman Welch on acoustic guitar; Codi Yhap on background vocals; Dave van Allen on pedal steel guitar; Asher Kurtz on electric guitar; James Moore on resophonic telecaster; Tubey Frank on background vocals; Chapman Welch on electric guitar; Emily X.R. Pan on mandolin; Dan Kalisher on electrosteel; and Asher Kurtz on electric guitar.
All songs on the album are written by Anica Mrose Rissi and Jeff Snyder. Bury Deep My Heart was arranged, produced, and recorded by Jeff Snyder; mixed by Seth Manchester at Machines with Magnets; and mastered by John Baldwin at Infrasonic with album art and design by Angela Guyton.