Rob’s Album of The Week: Lake Street Dive’s Good Together
You can call them a pop band, a soul band, or even a funk band, but the truth is that Lake Street Dive is a dynamically musical grouping of talented individuals. Rachael Price’s stellar vocals lead the sonic charge while bassist and pianist Bridget Kearney, drummer and organist Mike Calabrese, keyboardist and organist Akie Bermiss and guitarist James Cornelison round out the instrumentation while also assisting with the singing. Ever since I saw them play at Boston Calling roughly a decade ago, I’ve been a huge fan of the Brooklyn based quintet. With this fact being apparent, it only makes sense for me to be excited about their eighth studio album Good Together that was released by the band on June 21 via Fantasy Records. This release incorporates more of an electronic presence than their previous material while maintaining the groovy rhythms and the harmonious choruses.
There’s a ’70s pop vibe within the album that I absolutely enjoy. It’s very reminiscent of acts like Hall & Oates and Steely Dan, but with different elements being intertwined. The various doses of synth that consistently come through from start to finish definitely contribute to this notion. Speaking of consistency, that’s what I love the most about Lake Street Dive and their approach to their craft. Everything they put out is simply stellar, including their latest full-length release.
Summer has officially arrived, and we just got done with a week that was hot as hell where I live in Providence. I’m pretty sure I lost a couple pounds during the whole ordeal, but I’d rather take this than have to prepare for hurricanes in Florida or over 100-degree temperatures in Texas. I heard you can cook a steak on a rock outside during this time of year in a few different areas of the country, which is always crazy to me. What isn’t crazy is the next part of this review column. Without further ado, here are my top tracks off of my Album of The Week:
“Dance With a Stranger” is catchy and groovy and it’s no surprise that it’s one of the lead singles off of the album. I love the harmonies and Price’s vocal approach really shines. There’s a similar vibe within “Get Around’, but there’s more of a swampy & funky structure anchoring the charismatic tone. A nice departure within Good Together is “Twenty-Five”, which is a ballad about heartbreak and longing while coming to terms about the future in terms of having other relationships. It has a stripped-down quality with the piano being up front and center.
In support of the new album, Lake Street Dive are going to be kicking off a tour of North America at the Ottawa Jazz Festival on June 27. Other notable dates include sold out back-to-back gigs at The Chicken Box in Nantucket on July 2 & 3, the Levitate Music & Arts Festival in Marshfield on July 6, the Ascend Amphitheater in Nashville on July 13, the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado on July 21 and Madison Square Garden in New York City on September 14. For all the upcoming shows, you can log on to the tour page of their website. In the meantime, grab yourself a copy of Good Together. It’s a little bit of jazz, a little bit of funk and a little bit of soul all wrapped up in a spectacular sound.
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