The Sixth Great Lake - Up the Country
(Kindercore)
On the inside cover of The Sixth Great Lake's new album, Up the Country,
underneath all the miscellaneous notes, the phrase "Save our open spaces"
is printed. This plea is the theme of the album, a loving look back
to the 60s where communal idealism led to the yearning for the
simplicity of country life.
This 60s rehash also parallels the bands'
lives, starting off in Vermont before moving to Brooklyn (where the
band's parent project The Ladybug Transistor makes noise), as this
yearning for country life also feels very much like a yearning to return
home and a desire to stay youthful. The band's idyllic country home in
Vermont also provides the name of the band as Lake Champlain was
officially named The Sixth Great Lake a few years back (despite it
being incredibly small compared to the other, greater lakes). Lake
Champlain is, in effect, the band's Walden Pond.
The band is composed of members of The Essex Green along with an extra
collaborator, Zachary Ward. While both bands very faithfully recreate
60s and 70s pop, the difference between the two is small but
substantial; simply put: The Essex Green is a psychedelic band, and
The Sixth Great Lake is a folk band. Both are pop bands with the
same vocalists and the same songwriters (similarly distributing
writing responsibilities evenly), but as the
band states, on Up The Country, they are trying to make an album in
the spirit of The Band's Music from Big Pink (The Band's "Rockin'
Chair" is also covered on the album), which is quite different
from the music of The Essex Green.
This full-band style of mellow folk music is very appropriate considering the
musical and vocal abilities of the band and the message they are
trying to spread. The band members' strong voices are given space to
fill and take their primary role, simple and pure melodies from guitar,
keyboard, and the occasional flute are
sufficient to keep the songs interesting and pleasing, and the earthy
qualities of the sound add to the impact of the words.
In several songs, the band sings of how liberating trips home to Vermont
can be. In the title track, the singer makes a pitch to a lover to take a trip
"Up the Country" with him. He wouldn't "trade that calm life for anyone
but" her, but he hopes that, after experiencing that "calm life" on
the trip, she will be convinced to leave the city with him. More
pro-country propaganda is spread on "300 Miles," as the singer sings
of a trip to see the fall colors in Vermont, pledging he can no longer
live a city life, contrasting the beautiful death of the leaves in
the country to the less noble rot of the leaves in the city. The cover
of The Band's "Rockin' Chair" also adds to this theme of the liberating
trip home.
In other songs, the band puts to words the beauty of their country
surroundings. In "Lovely Today," the singer remarks on how beautiful
the start of winter can be, as even though "green turns to brown,"
the leaves are beautiful, the clouds are like "meringues" in the sky,
and the sun sets leading to a clear, starry night. In "Duck Pond,"
the singer sings of the effects of winter on the animals, the trees,
and a small pond.
Much like The Essex Green and The Ladybug Transistor, The Sixth Great
Lake is not a terribly original band. However, they are not a terribly
original band by design. Like those other bands, they are trying to
recreate a great style of music as faithfully as possible, as the
sounds they love and the feelings
they want to express so closely parallel this previous movement. The
message and sound may not be new, but they are exquisitely done, and in
this case, bring back a style not covered by many current bands.
|
