For those of you not familiar with Great Lakes Swimmers, I would best describe them as Iron & Wine, backed by My Morning Jacket, circa Acoustic Citsuoca. Ongiara is the Canadian outfit’s third release and my favorite of the three. The album was recorded at Aeolian Hall in London, Ontario. Apparently, it is a 100 year old acoustical wonder. Having never been there, I can’t confirm nor deny, but it does give the album a nice warm feel.

Tony Dekker is the voice and songwriter for Great Lake Swimmers, and he is joined by Erik Arnesen (banjo, electric guitar) and Colin Huebert (drums, percussion, glockenspiel, timpani.) There are also a host of guest musicians that help fill out the sound with autoharp, dobro, cello and strings from Arcade Fire.

I really liked Bodies and Minds but Ongiara seems to have a little more texture to it. Some of the standout tracks include Catcher Song, I Am A Part Of A Large Family and Passenger Song.

If you enjoy a great songwriter working behind a rootsy musical collaboration then you should check them out. Tony Dekker is a songwriter on the rise and its only a matter of time before he gets his due in the States.

Great Lake Swimmers - Your Rocky Spine

Great Lake Swimmers - I am Part of a Large Family

The Morning Pages, an alt-country outfit on Zealous Records, released their EP, The Company You Keep, this week. Much like their label-mates The Basement, this EP should also make its way into your collection.

The EP is a nice toe-tapping collection of Alt-Country with influences firmly planted in the 70’s. On the Zealous Records page, The Brooklyn five-piece lists Leon Russell, Gram Parsons and The Band as influences. Couldn’t have said it any better myself.

“We have no problem with the bands that have dominated New York for the last few years. I love The Strokes and The Walkmen,” say principle songwriter Grant Maxwell, “but I feel like there is a general yearning for a more substantial and organic music that is beginning to emerge in some of the new bands.”

That is certainly evident here and also with contemporaries like Oakley Hall. There are only so many retro garage rock bands that one city can hold. Its good to see NYC kicking out a new brand of music.

I’ve listened to this album a few times and feel like I should be sitting on a porch with my dog, drinking a whiskey. The fact that I don’t like whiskey, combined with February Chicago temperatures put a damper on that idea. It still hasn’t slowed down my appreciation of The Morning Pages and Zealous Records as a whole. They’re two for two in my book.

They’ll be at SXSW 2007, so if you’re making your way to Austin, check them out. We’ll see you in the crowd…or at the bar.

The Morning Pages - With the Lord

After turning down my ticket to see The Police, I ventured out on a freezing Chicago night to check an unsigned band called The Record Low at The Subterranean. I’ve never been impressed with The Subterranean because the acoustics are awful and this night was no different. Luckily, The Record Low didn’t become a product of their environment, nor did they dissapoint.

If you haven’t heard the name, The Record Low are a Chicago-based band that we recently profiled and they had their first CD release party last weekend. The crowd was amped up and surely filled with friends, family and fans, so there was a good energy in the place as they took the stage.

They banged through about 8-10 songs, only a couple of which I recognized. Much like when I listened to the MP3’s for the first time, I was blown away by the lead singer, Henry Joseph. The last vocalist that made me stand up and take notice like that was Will Sheff. He has a powerful, often times vulnerable voice that is not the norm. The rest of band are no slouches in their own right. Justin Kerr (drums) and Markus Hartnett (bass) did a great job in laying a solid foundation that allowed Joseph and lead guitarist, Robby Haynes to strut their stuff.

Overall a great show by a great band on the rise. They are playing throughout the Midwest over the next couple of months, including The Empty Bottle and The Metro here in Chicago.

As for the CD itself, it’s damn good and includes more polished versions of the demos below, as well as 7 new ones. Some of the new tunes that stuck out were Here To Stay and Southern State, both of which you can hear on their myspace page. Southern State is a great acoustic song that really shows off Joseph’s voice.

I don’t think you’ll find the album on iTunes or the other usual suspects just yet. If you want a copy, I would contact them at info@therecordlow.com.

Run of the Mill

The Bottom

These Girls

This Other City

It’s been a little over a year since Tim Seely released his solo debut, Funeral Music, but I’m still loving it like a fat kid loves cake. Seely, the former frontman of one of my favorite bands of the early 2000s, the now defunct Actual Tigers (formerly known as Willis), has been flying under the radar since the Tigers 2001 debut, Gravelled and Green. In my opinion, Gravelled and Green was absolutely outstanding. It even received a considerable amount of critical acclaim but, due in part to some bad luck, fell far short of the band’s expectations. A great album from top to bottom, it included an exceptional variety of tracks, including “Yardwork in November”, which earned a spot on HearYa.com’s Top 100 Indie Songs of All Time.

Now Seely is back with the ambling, sonic tapestry that is Funeral Music. It’s decidedly different from Gravelled and Green, but showcases Seely’s heady songwriting prowess and exploratory edge, while maintaining the integrity of his folksy guitar-based roots. If you were a fan of the Actual Tigers, it’s definitely worth a listen. Standout tracks include the album’s opener “6 Foot Crest”, as well as “On Film I Play Myself” (my personal favorite) and “Trucker’s Lullaby”. While the majority of the album moves along fairly patiently, Seely proves he still has plenty of pop sensibility with the album’s title track, “Funeral Music”. You can stream the entire album for free here.

Tim Seely - Lady Luck