Great Lakes

Great Lakes Artist: Great Lakes
Label: Kindercore Records
Category: Music


Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1


UPC: 675818004429
EAN: 0675818004429
ASIN: B00004TFEE


Release Date: 2000-05-23

Great Lakes


Related Categories:

General General
Categories | Rock | Styles | Music
Pop Rock Pop Rock
Categories | Pop | Styles | Music
Indie Rock Indie Rock
Categories | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
General General
Categories | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
Neo-Psychedelia Neo-Psychedelia
Categories | Rock | Alternative Styles | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Tracks:

  1. Storming
  2. A Little Touched
  3. An Easy Life
  4. Become The Ship
  5. World's Fair Pt.1
  6. Come Home And Come True
  7. A Banana
  8. Parachutes
  9. Giants And Tigers
  10. World's Fair Pt.2
  11. Posters For The Theatre
  12. Virgil

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Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Swim in the lakes.......2004-10-29

Elephant 6 bands are known for being enchanting and inventive. And Great Lakes, a part of the "extended family," does not disappoint with their self-titled debut. With gently echoing vocals and some sweetle folky pop overtones, it's a charming little listen.

The tone is set with "Storming," a melodious pop song with a folk heart and a hint of piano and strings. That sound carries over into several other songs like the horn-accented "Easy Life" and the banjo-ish "Come Home and Come True." But Great Lakes avoids the pitfalls of monotony with the organ in "Become the Ship," the gentle piano-pop in "Banana," and the shimmering psychedelic spurts of "Parachutes."

Great Lakes is one of those bands that doesn't get as much attention as they deserve. The brainchild of Dan Donahue, Ben Crum, and Jame Huggins, this band gets support from Elephant 6 band members from Apples in Stereo, Elf Power and Neutral Milk Hotel. And the result is some rousingly enjoyable pop music.

James Huggins's vocals don't ever rise too far above the music. In fact, it's hard to really separate his vocals from the music -- they're shrouded in echoes and a little robotic sounding. Listen carefully, and you can discern songwriting that is merely okay at worst (the lackluster "Storming") and excellent at best ("I dreamed you were a parachute/I had to cut you loose/(I left you there regrettably)/you let me down gracefully...")

Occasionally the sound is mostly acoustic, like the harmonica-and-banjo of "Come Home and Come True," which only has a few electronic wavers. But elsewhere, electric guitar and restrained percussion are augmented by electronic wavers, squiggles and sputters. And the ethereal keyboard solo in "Banana," with a bit of guitar mixed in, is enchanting.

Great Lakes's self-titled debut is a great collection of sweet pop music, and not something to forget in a hurry, like a sweet dream early in the morning.

4 out of 5 stars Great Lakes: the best debut album of 2000?.......2001-02-05

Elephant 6 or not, who cares? This could be the best debut album of 2000, due not only to the sincerity in the songwriting, but to the epic heavy-on-the-echo production aesthetic and the Eno-like use of analog synthesizers. Though the songs rely more on keyboards than guitars, the most original thing about this band is their ability to take a song out to space. You could get a contact-high from the ending to "Come Home and Come True." Highly recommended.

5 out of 5 stars Dynamic Debut.......2000-08-15

Great Lakes' psychedelic sound combines creative, melodic, layered songs with a wide variety of instruments to create a very impressive debut. If you want to take inspiration from prior decades, the Beatles and the Beach Boys are good company. They have backed up their CD with exciting, live performances at the Echo Lounge in Atlanta and the 40 Watt in Athens, which we thoroughly enjoyed. We look forward to their next tour. The dozen songs will linger in your mind and delight each time you revisit Great Lakes.

5 out of 5 stars Pet sounds of elephant variety.......2000-07-25

In short, there are enough breezy harmonies and wind instruments scattered among the strawberry fields to make you forget the last 30 years ever happened.

5 out of 5 stars Great Sound.......2000-05-23

A great band out of Athens, GA. They are in the most-played rotation on WUOG, The student radio station at the University of Georgia.

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  7. Cilla Black - Her Greatest Hits ~ Cilla Black
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