Obviously

by Lake Street Dive

Overview

Having started out as a genre-bending indie outfit, Boston's Lake Street Dive have matured into sophisticated purveyors of vintage-inspired soul, funk, and adult contemporary pop. It's a sound that helped make 2018's Free Yourself Up such a delightful surprise, and one which they further perfect on their seventh album, 2021's thoughtfully ebullient Obviously. Produced with warm clarity by Mike Elizondo, the album again showcases the talents of lead singer Rachael Price, bassist Bridget Kearney, guitarist Mike "McDuck" Olson, and drummer Mike Calabrese. Also rejoining the group (having initially come aboard in 2017) is their not-so-secret weapon keyboardist/vocalist Akie Bermiss, whose jazzy piano chops and warm vocals help elevate the group's sound throughout. Particularly engaging is "Same Old News," an earthy duet between Price and Bermiss that brings to mind the classic '70s work of Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway. The band conjures equally potent vibes elsewhere, as on the romantic R&B anthem "Hypotheticals," and the '80s Phil Collins-style ballad "Anymore." There's also a palpable undercurrent of feminism and progressive social consciousness running throughout the album as Lake Street Dive wrestle with some of the issues their generation and the next seem to be coming to terms with. On "Making Do," Price sings, "Killer waves and riots/Coming to the coastline soon...I guess it's hard to be a human/It's even harder to be not/When you're making do with what you've got." That said, there's never a sense that Lake Street Dive are preaching with heavy hands, and cuts like the bluesy "Hush Money" and the lyrical "Nobody's Stopping You Now" have a universally relatable feeling. That they also evoke the classic album-oriented work of artists like Fleetwood Mac and Carly Simon speaks to Lake Street Dive's ever-deepening sense of songcraft. ~ Matt Collar

Product Details

Release Date:	03/12/2021
Label:	Nonesuch
UPC:	0075597919592

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Lake Street Dive   Primary Artist
Mike "McDuck" Olson   Strings,Trumpet,Mandolin,Guitar
Akie Bermiss   Piano,Vocals,Melodica,Keyboards,Synthesizer,Vocals (Background)
Mary Kathryn Van Osdale   Violin
Catherine Umstead   Violin
Bruce Christensen   Viola
Mike Elizondo   Keyboards,Synthesizer
Mike Calabrese   Drums,Vocals,Marimba,Percussion,Sound Effects,Vocals (Background)
Alec Spiegelman   Sax (Baritone)
Alan Umstead   Violin
Anthony LaMarchina   Cello
Kristin Andreassen   Vocals (Background)
Rachael Price   Vocals
Bridget Kearney   Bass,Vocals,Mellotron,Synthesizer,Vocals (Background)
Jung-Min Shin   Violin

Technical Credits

Zach Stokes   Assistant Engineer,Assistant
Mike "McDuck" Olson   Composer,Musical Associate
Akie Bermiss   Arranger,Composer
Chris Gehringer   Mastering
Mike Elizondo   Composer,Producer,Programming
Mike Calabrese   Arranger,Composer
Adam Hawkins   Mixing
Rachael Price   Composer
David Campbell   Arranger
Shervin Lainez   Cover Photo
Lawson White   Engineer
Bridget Kearney   Composer
Mike Olson   Composer
Pat Dicenso   Engineer
Leo Krauss   Prints
Dewey Saunders   Artwork