Lakes - The Constance LP

If there is an Appleseed Cast sized hole in your musical heart, then there's no better time to introduce yourself to Lakes

If by chance there is an Appleseed Cast sized hole in your musical heart, then there's no better time to introduce yourself to Lakes. Hailing from the Midwestern emo bastion city of... Watford, England, the quintet are a sparkling breath of jangling, introspective, guitar-heavy emo/indie that bands like The Appleseed Cast, Christie Front Drive, and Mineral become known for. Yet Lakes, while showcasing many similar traits to the aforementioned bands on The Constance LP, have enough that helps differentiate them from the genre's past. Take the opener "Constance" for instance, where their brand of emo is infused with some shimmering pop and a little bit of Clem Snide. In "Reindeer", they take a more uptempo route (think Braid), while "Geneva" finds Lakes adopting more guitar twinkling and mid-tempo melodies. Lakes features dual vocal work- male and female- that adds a nice dynamic to the songs. It is part of the many textures that The Constance LP has that makes the release more than just a new band finding joy in a sound thought long gone. Truth is, while the music of Lakes is associated with a certain place, a certain time, much of their music at least feels current. Attribute that to perhaps, the more spry nature of some of their compositions.

If you haven't deduced yet, the song titles are all names of lakes, and while it gives the album a thematic bond, the songs fluctuate enough that the music never flatlines. The terrific "Placid" is the album's finest moment- complete with male/female call and response vocals and an air of pop urgency that makes for a great outing. The song evokes the more vibrant sounds of what emo became as it found popularity and moved out of the metaphorical basement, finding a closeness to pop-punk and that ilk. Hesitant to say it but if you squint a little, the song sounds a little bit like The Starting Line on Say It Like You Mean It (not that sounding like The Starting Line is a bad thing). Songs like "Lucerne" and "Tahoe" maintain an airiness to them, while soft-spoken closer "Erie" is a nice, serene moment.

With a resurgence in Midwestern emo's mainstream appeal, there is more than room for new bands like Lakes to find their place. It's 2019 and we have new albums by both American Football and The Appleseed Cast, so why not something new that's old? The Constance LP is a strong debut for Lakes. It may not shimmer quite like Two Conversations did, but The Appleseed Cast didn't find that until at least two albums in. For Lakes, the future is bright.

(Friend of Mine Records / The LP Cafe)

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