LAKE
(K)
You get a lot of indie-rock records that sound melancholy or even morose, but you get few that are delicate without being sad, that sound like you can both dance (or at least vigorously sway) and dream to it. Maybe simultaneously and, yes, maybe with a touch of regret that such a state can't be a permanent condition. Let's Build a Roof, the second K album by the Northwest indie-pop sextet LAKE, has that sound - quiet, almost a little chorale-like in its male-female unison vocals and restrained leads, but with a rhythmic, breezy drive. It's reminiscent of poppier late-1960s sunshine pop (like Harper's Bizarre) or some of Christine McVie's more elegantly constructed Fleetwood Mac hits. You can almost hear the Mac singing a medley of "Don't Stop" and LAKE's "Don't Give Up." But LAKE also differs - it's not a revivalist band, although it started as a Mac cover band. The production by Karl Blau provides a distancing effect, a muted quality mixing synths and "natural" instruments like marimbas, that's quirky enough to be mysterious and now and then inserts dark shadows into the sunny soundscape. The opening song, "Breathing," has some ever-so-lightly atonal, echoey guitar notes to set a spooky mood, and the male solo vocal cracks slightly, just enough to hint at something perplexing. It's a bit of Joy Division intruding on the joy. The bleating-horn sound on "Gravel," a bit out of time with the rhythm, is another hint of the underlying discordance beneath the band's smooth, groovy sound. The songwriting, too, by Eli Moore and Ashley Eriksson, reveals depth - "Gravel" turns out to be a song about fear. But the album hits patches where it becomes too lulling, causing a listener to tune out rather than perk up and listen. This is always a drawback when restrained singing is spread over a full album, and LAKE hasn't resolved it. But the melodies are strong enough to keeping bringing you back when you drift away.
Standout Tracks: "Madagascar," "Loose Wind" STEVEN ROSEN
