Great Lake Swimmers — Lost Channels

Lost Channels

Nettwerk/Sony BMG

Phil Villeneuve (CHARTattack)

04/03/2009 2:02pm

What the hell happened to Tony Dekker? It's like he and his Great Lake Swimmers have finally woken up after years of peaceful, acoustic slumber.

The band's fourth album is noticeably more upbeat and alive. Dekker's heart-melting vocals and poetics remain intact and the warm, autumnal sound that always seems to follow the ensemble is still alive and well.

But this record sounds more stirring than anything the Swimmers have released in a long time. Julie Fader and Serena Ryder (solely featured on "Everything Is Moving So Fast") add bulk to Dekker's vocals and, more importantly, make for more variety.

Whereas the breathtaking Ongiara was a steady collection of earthly lullabies, Lost Channels rocks out — as much as the Swimmers can — on songs like the booming "She Comes To Me In Dreams," which fits in perfectly with the mountain music banjo beauty, "The Chorus In The Underground."

With this newest effort, Dekker and company are perfecting an art and adding to their already handsome canvas with weightier, deeper brush strokes.

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