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Great Lakes Myth Society
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Great Lakes Myth Society
Stop, Pop, And Roll Records
Release: 4/19/2005
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Rated:
Review by:
Jason Warner
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It's hard to tell what a band is all about from reading the
brief press release that often accompanies the records I
receive to review. For this reason I usually skim quickly
through the one-sheet and then go straight to the album to
formulate my own opinion of the particular band's music.
However, sometimes I will read something in my quick
perusal of the press release that catches my attention. This
is what happened with Great Lakes Myth Society. Their
press release makes it sound like this band was basically
formed for the sole purpose of singing about geography,
specifically the geography of the Great Lakes region of the
United States, an odd mission statement if I have ever heard
one. But, bands have been formed for far less important
reasons and found success, so I turned to the music to find
some answers. What I found was not inherently geographic
in nature, although the lyrics (which came in the package
with the album) leave little mystery as to the inspiration
behind the songs.
Great Lakes Myth Society is a hard band to describe. They
sound at times downright rootsy, with subtle Midwestern
flavor, simple stripped down guitars, basic rhythms and
straightforward, standard rock and roll song structures.
Then other times they go crazy with massively overdone
harmony vocals, symphonics and overly complicated
versions of everything they had been doing right just
moments before. I can hear all kinds of things in the music,
an obvious affection for late 60s early 70s style rock, Celtic
rhythmic passages, and a strong love for the singer-
songwriter aesthetic ala The Boss.
The debut album from Great Lakes Myth Society opens with
"Red Jacket Miners/The Salt Trucks," a sort of mini rock
opera comprised of two sections, which really isn't a bad
song. The lyrics of this track and the other 14 (yes, 15
tracks total) lean a little on the nostalgic/romantic side of the
blue-collar line, but that's not necessarily a bad thing...
especially if done in moderation. The vocals on this track
remind me of The Association crossed with Crosby Stills and
Nash circa 1973. The harmonies are nice, and spot on, but
at times detract from the song. This problem recurs often
throughout the 50:46 minutes of the album. "Across the
Bridge" has vocals that sound like a cross between Guided
By Voices and Barenaked Ladies. "Big Jim Hawkins" is a tale
of folklore akin to "You Don't Mess Around With Jim," or
various other Paul Bunyon style tall tales set to music.
However, I really liked the way the lyrics were phrased
within the context of the music on this one. It comes across
sounding like a mix between early R.E.M. and Live. "The
Northern Lights Over Atlanta, MI" is another track that was
really catching my attention, with a great build towards the
end that was ultimately muddled by the return of the
overdone harmony vocals. Harmony vocals are supposed to
make the music more interesting, but fail to remain exciting
when they are hiding around every single corner. "When
Will I Ceas…" sums up this album for me… the vocals on this
track are nothing of not passionate, but the singer just
doesn't seem to ever hit the mark.
Great Lakes Myth Society have shown with their debut it is
possible to base a whole album, and even a band on a
theme, but the fact it can be done does not necessarily
make it a good idea. They have potential as songwriters,
and it will be interesting to see if future releases can break
away from the geographic anchor and branch out into
something a little more original. |
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