Great Lakes formed in Athens, Georgia around the songwriting partnership of lyricist Dan Donahue and composer Ben Crum. Heavily inspired in their early days by the Elephant 6 scene in Athens (Neutral Milk Hotel and Olivia Tremor Control, and the loose collective of psychedelicly-minded artists and home recording avatars that grew up around them), the band has had many members, many of them notable for their work in other musical projects, including: Jamey Huggins, Dottie Alexander, Kevin Barnes, Bryan Poole (all from Of Montreal), Heather McIntosh (Japancakes), Derek Almstead (Elf Power), Jeff Baron (The Essex Green), Scott Spillane (Neutral Milk Hotel), Kyle Forester (The Ladybug Transistor), Kevin Shea (Storm & Stress) and Jay Israelson (Lansing-Dreiden).
Together now for a decade, the band last toured the US opening for The Clientele in the summer of 2006, and went on to tour Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland and the UK in January 2007. They've played at South by Southwest and the CMJ festival, opened for Belle & Sebastian, and appeared at the Emmaboda Festival in Sweden and the Quart Festival in Norway.
Their songs were featured in director Michael Tully's film Cocaine Angel, and Crum penned original music for director Craig Zobel's Sundance favorite Great World of Sound.
The band are currently based in New York and are working on their 4th album.
A quick run-down of the band's releases:
The band's eponymous debut was released in 2000. An ambitious production that blended classic songcraft with epic soundscapes, Allmusic called it "a luminous paean to late-'60s psych-pop crafted with obvious skill and affection " and Uncut magazine praised its "gorgeous stereophonic experiments."
Their 2nd LP, 2002's The Distance Between, further explored the intricate pop stylings of their debut, and originals ranging from breezy, gentle pop to psychedelic garage rock mingled with BeeGees and Mike Nesmith covers. It was selected as one of the top overlooked albums of 2002 by Magnet Magazine.
With their 3rd LP, 2006's Diamond Times, the band embraced a broader, more eclectic range of musical influences, and their sound grew into what Uncut magazine called simply "powerful, accomplished pop music," and "utterly great." The band's old hometown rag, Athens, Georgia's own Flagpole magazine, noted that, " Hands down, Diamond Times has some gorgeously composed and executed songs," and Americana UK picked it as one of the top albums of the year, saying, "It makes the hairs stand up on the back of your neck it's that great."
The band has also released five 7" vinyl singles, including a split 7" with Elf Power, and has had tracks appear on compilations by HHBTM, Flying Rhino and Darla.
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