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Led by the melodic folk excursions of Tony Dekker, Great Lake Swimmers originally from Wainfleet, Ontario, Canada, released their eponymously-titled debut album in 2003. Released on the small independent label Weewerk, the album subsequently earned a U.S. release on the label Misra Records in 2005. The band’s follow-up, “Bodies and Minds” (2005), like its predecessor has been compared to the luscious folk of Red House Painters, Nick Drake and Iron & Wine.
After the release Great Lake Swimmers signed to Nettwerk and expanded on their Canadian popularity with their third full-length “Ongiara” in 2007. Aided by the indie chart topping single “Your Rocking Spine”, which also appeared on the American TV show “Weeds”, the band was able to tour in support of the album for two years, however still found time to record their fourth studio album. “Lost Channels” was issued in March 2009 and represented the height of Great Lake Swimmer’s creativity, subsequently being shortlisted for the 2009 Polaris Music Prize and earning a Juno Award nomination.
Also in 2009 the band released a live EP “The Legion Sessions”, which featured live versions of a number of “Lost Channels” songs. Having appeared in the documentary series “City Sonic” and “National Parks Project”, the Great Lake Swimmers released their fifth full-length album “New Wild Everywhere” in April 2013. The same year arrived Dekker’s solo album “Prayer of the Woods”, including covers of Lightfoot and Human Sexual Responses, followed in 2014 by the cover album “Sings 10 Years of Zunior” to mark the 10 year anniversary of the music store Zunior.
Great Lake Swimmers have a nice, pastoral folky sound and wonderful vocal harmonies. Their sound is like slowcore meets indie folk, and the mix is just pure gold.
The band pulls their sound together beautifully, live. The dreamy, sad quality of their music gives their live sound an ethereal, distant haunting sound. It is loud, cinematic, sad, and beautifully written.
The vocals match the music's aesthetic, but also provide a poppy edge. The female harmonies sound emotional, and the band utilizes midwestern emo style guitar chords and rhythms for a passionately loud effect. I was just continually blown away by the band's sound. They seemed to have a true passion for the music that they were making, and it really heightened and sharpened their sound. The guitar sounded like it was an alternate tool for the musician to express their emotions.
I just loved every second of their dream pop sound. It was fresh, and clean, and the melodies really gave their tone an advantage. The melodies perfectly complement the musical aesthetic, and the distant, dreamy sound of the Great Lake Swimmers was a new favorite of mine. The audience happily swayed for the rest of the set, and happily cheered when it was over. I was really impressed by these guys.
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