Sure, summer is over but Brooklyn by-way-of-Athens based Great Lakes have released a fall album with a loose, summery feel. Their third full-length, Diamond Times, is a briskly paced, inspired set of guitar pop with a little bit of twang and a nod to a time in popular music when the saxophone was a key ingredient. Killer tracks include the vaguely Stones-y “Farther,” doo-wop flavored “Hot Cosmos,” and “Horses Wings,” with its blazing slide intro that gives way to some chunky, melodic riffs.
As might be expected from card carrying members of the sprawling Elephant Six family, there are guest contributors galore, including personnel from Of Montreal, Essex Green, and Ladybug Transistor to name a few. These players bring a wall of sound’s worth of instruments to the proceedings but rather than cluttering up the aural scenery like a lawn full of illuminated plastic crap around Christmastime, their parts are judiciously chosen and add to each song as a whole.
Not every number is a knockout though. The one-two countrified punch of “The Moon and the Lunatics” and “Shaky Faith” almost causes the album to lose its momentum. And the closer, “Eagle and Swan,” is doubly damned for being silly and dull. But even these don’t exactly feel like missteps and there’s plenty of stronger material to overcome such slight dips.
And I have to mention this because I think of it every time I listen. Singer Ben Crum’s voice often bears an uncanny resemblance to John Linnell’s of They Might Be Giants. Check out his ultra-nasal delivery on “The Pinks and the Purples” and see if you don’t agree.
Mixtape tracks- Farther, Hot Cosmos, Horses Wings
Freebies- There’s a 128 kbs mp3 of “Horses Wings” here from the Empyrean Records site. You can also stream or download low quality versions of “Farther” and “Diamond Times” at MySpace.