Great Lake Swimmers

Three of the four cd’s I ordered came last week (no Skandinavia, but I expected that.) One was the eponymously titled "Great Lake Swimmers." It very rarely happens that samples cause me to say “I gotta have that cd!” but it happened with this band. Lead swimmer, Tony Dekker is originally from London, Ontario, now living in Toronto. His music brings to mind early Neil Young: haunting, rural, atmospheric melodies; ambient, pastoral alt-folk; minimalist sadsack “drifting late summer melancholy.” If that’s not for me, I dunno what is. This cd was recorded in an abandoned silo, hence the echoey nature of the vocals and backing vocals by some crickets. Their next cd “Bodies and Minds” will be released in America later this summer. That one was recorded in Lakeside Church possibly in Guelph so perhaps we can expect to hear some clinking of coins as the collection plates are being passed around.