The third album by Brooklyn-by-way-of-Athens duo Great Lakes starts out sounding pretty much exactly like its two predecessors: pleasant but inessential semi-psychedelic chamber pop in the Elephant 6 tradition. (Indeed, Great Lakes were part of the final generation of Athens-based E6 bands, loosely connected to Of Montreal and Elf Power.) As if realizing almost halfway through that they were creeping down an artistic dead-end, singer-songwriters Dan Donahue and Ben Crum pull off a nervy mid-album shift in artistic direction that's just audacious enough to work. First, there's the misbegotten way station of the glam-rocky "Hot Cosmos," which strongly recalls Wizzard and T. Rex's futuristic-'50s boogie, complete with Roy Wood-style honking sax riffs and a fair recreation of Marc Bolan's hipper-than-thou vocal ennui. (And boy, doesn’t that title sound like a mythical Wood/Bolan collaboration?) Following that up immediately with the pedal-steel shuffle of "The Moon and the Lunatics" makes it sound like Donahue and Crum are shamelessly trying on new musical styles to see if one fits. In fact, the rest of the CD continues fruitfully with that song's blend of country influences and early '70s Laurel Canyon rock sounds. "Night Hearts," complete with fiddle and female harmonies, moves closest into Gram Parsons territory, but the rest of the album is appealingly mellow and melodic, strongly reminiscent of the lighter side of Teenage Fanclub. Diamond Times still isn't a world-beater, but it's the first indication so far that Great Lakes have potential beyond their heretofore limited purview.
Stewart Mason
Release date: September 12, 2006
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