Great Lake Swimmers: “Easy Come Easy Go”
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On Tuesday the acclaimed Toronto-based folk outfit Great Lake Swimmers released its fifth (well, sixth if you count the live Legion Sessions) record New Wild Everywhere. The group’s bucolic sound has garnered comparisons to fellow Canadian Neil Young, and earned the band a strong following and warm reviews from both sides of the border and beyond.
The group was formed in 2003 by frontman and songwriter Tony Dekker. Initially conceived as a solo project for Dekker, the band has maintained a rather fluid lineup. The year 2005 saw the release of the band’s self-titled debut and the outstanding sophomore effort Bodies and Minds. These first two releases set the tone for the Great Lake Swimmers’ recording process. The group eschewed the sanitary confines of a studio and instead took to recording in places like abandoned grain silos and disused churches. It’s a formula that’s worked. The recording locales imbue the band’s records, like 2009′s great Lost Channels, with a melancholic warmth that’s not easy to achieve in or out of a studio.
So when the band decided to enter a proper studio for New Wild Everywhere, it was a bit of a gamble. Tracks like today’s song of the day “Easy Come Easy Go” prove it’s a gamble that’s paid off, big time. The song still has the intimacy that has marked previous outings. It’s a little bit more up-tempo than the band’s usual fare, but it still strikes such a wistful tone that’s undeniably Great Lake Swimmers.
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