Your New Favorite Band
I have a tendency to commit to things without thinking them through, a personality trait that has led me to make some questionable life choices in my 21 years, like that time I got white girl cornrows (it was the era of Lil’ Romeo and a different time) or the day I thought, “Yeah, being an English major will be a great choice for financial stability!” But even I have qualms about pre-ordering an album on iTunes. Especially pre-ordering a band’s second album ever, for risk of that sophomore album slump. But I did it for Boston jazz-pop quartet Lake Street Dive’s Side Pony, and the album — much to my relief — did not disappoint.
I stumbled upon the band when I fell down a YouTube rabbit hole. The clip was of the band performing a jazz cover of the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” on a Boston sidewalk. Once you get past the weirdness of a seeing someone drag a full upright bass, a snare drum and a trumpet halfway into the street for reasons that I still don’t fully understand, the cover is bafflingly good. The video was a preview for the band’s first major EP, Fun Machine, which featured jazz covers of songs by acts as diverse as The Drifters, George Michael, Paul McCartney and Hall & Oates (okay, actually most of those acts are just white dudes and not actually that diverse, but the point is their music sounds surprisingly good as jazz covers in a way I didn’t really expect).
Lead singer Rachael Price is the real star of the group. Not only is her application of red lipstick an inspiration to us all, but Price’s voice is unlike anything I’ve heard in a very long time. Price’s voice is reminiscent of retro pop divas, a 21st century Dusty Springfield, and her husky alto is a perfect match for Lake Street Dive’s old school Motown grooves. Her range consistently sends shivers down my spine—if you don’t believe me, check out “Just Ask” from Lake Street’s 2014 album, Bad Self Portraits and you can thank me later. All hail Rachael Price.
As for Side Pony (my new all-time favorite album named after an outdated Lizzie McGuire hairstyle), I knew it would be a delight as soon as I saw the cover art. Not to judge an album by its cover (except I totally did, come at me, bro) but there are few times I have connected with the aesthetics of an album cover on such a spiritual level; all four members of the band are wearing hip, matching gray suits and blue shoes.
And what’s even better is that the music is just as cool as that cover. Side Pony sounds like it fell directly out of the 60s. With the perfect balance of throwback grooves and innuendo-laced lyrics that’ll stay in your head for days, Lake Street Dive delivers a knockout punch on their second major album. They’ve come a long way since that Boston sidewalk.