After being in the business for more than twenty years, the band's leader Ben Crum has a firm grip on where to go next with his folk rock band Great Lakes. On Contenders he switches between glacier riffs a la Neil Young & Crazy Horse (Eclipse This, Your Eyes Are X's), West Coast pyschedelic pop (Way Beyond Blue, Born Frees) and toe-tapping roadtrip songs (Baby's Breath, Last Night's Smoke).
The main theme on this album it is longing for the carefree attitude of youth, when taking risks is the rule of the day and being convinced that the world is your oyster. Those days of the Born Frees are long gone, but that is OK. Crum and his longtime fellow members Kevin Shea (drums) and Suzanne Nienaber (vocals) are the axis, with the other musicians circling and swirling around them to create a starting kit for anyone who is looking for a gateway drug to get into superb, melodic Americana.
Great Lakes:
Ben Crum: guitar, vocals
Kevin Shea: drums
Suzanne Nienaber: vocals
Petter Folkedal: piano
Dave Gould: synths
Louis Schefano: drums
Ray Rizzo: vocals
Chris Ziter: vocals
Contenders is released album via Happy Happy Birthday to Me records (vinyl, digital). Release date: February 4th.
Tracks:- Eclipse This
- Way Beyond Blue
- Easy When You Know How
- Baby's Breath
- I'm Not Listening
- Born Frees
- Last Night's Smoke
- Wave Fighter
- Broken Even
- Your Eyes Are X's
HCTF review of Dreaming Too Close to the Edge.
