Review: Lake Street Dive soar on new album 'Obviously'

Lake Street Dive, 'œObviously'ť (Nonesuch Records)

Lake Street Dive's seventh studio album takes its name from the first word in the first song - 'œObviously.'ť Here's another thing that's obvious: You need to make this band part of your life.

Call them what you like - alt-country, indie-pop, pop-folk - the hard-to-classify Lake Street Dive offer top-notch songwriting with progressive lyrics and one of the most underrated vocalist in music today.

Originally formed in 2004 by students attending the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, the band consists of singer Rachael Price, Mike 'œMcDuck'ť Olson on trumpet and guitar, Bridget Kearney on upright bass and Mike Calabrese on drums. Newest member, keyboardist Akie Bermiss, harmonizes beautifully with Price on 'œSame Old News,'ť and wrote the beautiful and wistful 'œAnymore.'ť

The 11-track 'œObviously'ť follows 'œFree Yourself Up'ť from 2018, which featured one of the band's hits, 'œGood Kisser.'ť This time, 'œFeels Like the Last Time'ť has a rootsy vibe and 'œSarah'ť is a cappella.

'œNobody's Stopping You Now'ť was penned by Price as a letter of encouragement to her teenage self and 'œKnow That I Know'ť is a funky and funny trumpet-led ode to lovers ('œYou're Captain Kirk to my Spock/I'm Dee Dee Ramone and you're punk rock.'ť)

The band's progressive bent is evident on the feminist 'œBeing a Woman'ť - 'œIf I complain they'll blame my feelings/But look at the view from my glass ceiling'ť - 'œHush Money,'ť which assails crooked politics, and 'œMaking Do,'ť which tackles climate change with the lines, 'œWhat do I say to my baby girl?/Leaving her with a half a world?'ť

'œObviously'ť was produced by Mike Elizondo, who has worked with Dr. Dre, Eminem, Carrie Underwood and Fiona Apple. Lake Street Dive have never sounded better, full and clear with every instrument given a chance to shine in every song.

Superb musicians already, they can switch on a dime and go in another direction. Kearney even teases as much with the terrific first song 'œHypotheticals,'ť singing: 'œObviously, we're at the beginning of something/I don't expect you to know where it's gonna go.'ť Well, we'll ruin the surprise - it's gonna go great.

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Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits