Photo credit: Little x Little Photography
It’s a happy coincidence that the sophomore album from the harmony-drenched Milwaukee indie-folk band Greatest Lakes arrives during the first week of summery weather of the year. With its blissful, dreamy vibe, the band’s music is instantly evocative of long, leisurely summer days, especially for listeners who caught them at one of their many outdoor festival gigs around the release of their 2014 self-titled debut album.
The band’s new Divisions is even more generous with its creature comforts than its predecessor. Once again there are echoes of some of the most purely pleasurable indie-rock bands of the last decade— Fleet Foxes, Band of Horses, Grizzly Bear, My Morning Jacket—but as always Greatest Lakes’ music has a sense of uplift that’s all its own. And this time around, the group’s songs are showier and punchier, with bigger buildups and bigger payoffs, although those flashier dynamics never come at the expense of the serene spirit that made their debut such a welcome retreat.
“Our first album is pretty chill,” explains guitarist Brian Steinseifer. “We liked that. We tried to stay true to that with our live show and keep it quieter, and really focus on the vocal harmonies. But as we played more and more shows and more festivals, naturally we wanted a little more energy. This was by far the quietest and chilliest band that any of us have ever been in, so as we were getting back out playing, we wanted to bring in a little more of that energy. I think our songs and our sound started evolving a little more because of that.”
Mixed by Beau Sorenson and mastered by Justin Perkins, Divisions finds the band meditating on conflict, processing hardships and, on the dramatic “Heads Up,” reaching out for help. Mostly, though, it's about attaining order and tranquility in a world where those things feel harder to come by with each month.
|
|
“A lot of these songs are about relationships or relationships struggles,” Steinseifer says. “Not just romantic relationships, but also friendships and family relationships. The title of the album, Divisions, speaks on a number of levels. We had some band members come and go, and we experienced some shakeups to our personal relationships, good and bad, while we were writing the album. But the bigger unspoken part of the title is the current political environment. I think everybody feels more divided than ever. Music can be a good tool to combat that, I think, but it can also be a nice little escape from all of that.”
The Shepherd Express is excited to share the album ahead of its release Friday, May 4. You can stream it below and catch the band at a pair of release shows: one Saturday, May 5 with Moon Rebels at Kenosha’s Public Brewing Co., and one in Milwaukee on Saturday, May 26 at Anodyne Coffee with Nickel&Rose.
