Album Review: Lakes - The Agreement

There will be far more respected people in the music industry, giving far more effusive praise to Lakes’ 'The Agreement' than I can, but for what it is worth, this is a little gem of an album. From the first notes of 'Broadlyn' this is an album that smacks of undoubted quality. Managing to sound both lo-fi and heart-wrenchingly epic at the same time, 'Broadlyn' just dominates your speakers and I would go as far as to call it the closest you can get to an audio hug. Play it through headphones and it will absolutely envelop you – it is surely one of the best album openers of the year.

Lakes seem to have a sort of As Tall As Lions/Inkwell type thing going on. Jaunty musicianship with slightly melancholy lyrics combine to create an album of contrasting emotions, on the surface it is as catchy an indie album you will hear this side of The Format, but once again, when the headphones go on and you scratch below the surface you find the raw emotions are the heartbeat behind every song. 'The Ghost and the Man', one of the most powerful songs on the album, is carried by Seth Roberts’ soaring vocals, a song I enjoy despite it sounding like a Coldplay song. The guitar in the background of this song just gently keeps it going so the listener can fully appreciate Roberts’ superb vocal and lyrical work. Somewhat bizarrely the next song 'The Feeling' could easily pass as a slower Alkaline Trio song – perhaps based mostly on the fact that Roberts’ versatile vocal chords seem to emulate Dan Andriano for the verses. But it is another example of how Lakes can create an almost showtune style musical number while sounding like an indie rock band. It is reminiscent of how The Format could combine the upbeat music with the emotional lyrics on Dog Problems.

Lakes New Album Stream

Lakes' new album, 'The Agreement' is streaming here.