With no fanfare or preamble, Great Lake Swimmers' Tony Dekker gets right to the point on the very first song of the band's new album: "Something like a storm coming in."
It’s not menacing. It’s not melancholy. It’s confident, certain and assured. Just like Great Lake Swimmers and the themes they explore on this, their sixth record, A Forest of Arms.
The Toronto-based band holds Dekker's songwriting and vocals at its core, with a rotating cast of players around him. Dekker has long been a keen observer of his surroundings, which continue to inspire his songwriting. A recurring theme is the idea of navigating his way through the city — an idea brilliantly expressed on “I Will Never See the Sun" on the Swimmers' self-titled debut album — and he explores a similar sentiment in "Shaking All Over":
"They're no lifeboats to heaven around here,
Just misguided people,
And Russian roulette,
Mistaking kindness for weakness,
Thinking like giants,
Acting like children,
Just strangers in a hurry."
On "Zero in the City," Dekker cleverly calculates the algebra of a crumbling relationship:
"Oh, but nothing’s the same,
Minus two,
No one to blame,
Minus one in the street,
A conceit in degrees,
Minus two now we're gone,
Minus you now we’re done."
The current Great Lake Swimmers lineup of Dekker, Erik Arnesen (banjo), Miranda Mulholland (violin, backing vocals), Bret Higgins (bass) and Joshua Van Tassel (drums) power up A Forest of Arms' deep, introspective compositions.
The tight rhythm section of Van Tassel and Higgins drive tracks like "Something Like a Storm," "Zero in the City" and "I Must Have Someone Else's Blues," while Van Tassel and Mulholland take turns leading the waltz on "Shaking All Over." The longest-serving member of the Swimmers' rotating cast, Arneson (he's been with the band since 2005), makes "A Bird Flew Inside the House" shine with his subtle banjo playing.
A Forest of Arms is arguably one of the most dynamic and focused Great Lake Swimmers records to date.
The new album will be released on Nettwerk Records on April 21. You can stream the album in its entirety until April 20 by clicking on the player above.
Tracklisting:
1. "Something Like a Storm"
2. "Zero in the City"
3. "Shaking All Over"
4. "Don't Leave Me Hanging"
5. "One More Charge at the Red Cape"
6. "I Was a Wayward Pastel Bay"
7. "A Bird Flew Inside the House"
8. "A Jukebox in a Desert of Snow"
9. "I Must Have Someone Else's Blues"
10. "The Great Bear"
11. "With Every Departure"
12. "Expecting You"