Lakes of Canada
If Lakes of Canada is not on your radar, it’s headed there. The band is performing Thursday and is on the bill for Pop Montreal in September. Read our interview with co-founder Jake Smith on Page C6 and watch an exclusive video of the band performing their song Neverland at montrealgazette.com/music
If you haven’t caught a glimpse of Lakes of Canada, don’t worry – you probably will. Fresh out of the studio, the band is winning Montreal over with its warm, folky tunes.
Less than two years old, the band has grown during that time from the founding duo of singer-songwriter Jake Smith and drummer Conor O’Neil to a quintet, with the addition of Tim Dobby on guitar, Quinn Brander on cello and Gwen Bergman on harp, flute and vocals.
Since the May debut of its album Toll the Bell, Lakes of Canada has played at North by Northeast in Toronto and the Montreal Fringe Festival.
Last week, it was announced the band would be part of the Pop Montreal lineup in September. The group won the Greenland Productions Award at the Fringe Festival, and will open for a headliner this fall as the prize.
And its sound is following the band’s success – simple melodies and instrumenta- tion, rather than vocal harmonies, are driving it into an era of lighter, more joyful sounds after a dark but rich period.
Lakes of Canada’s latest song, Neverland, is a clear step in that high-spirited direction.
“It just has a simple, feelgood feel,” Smith said. “I wrote Neverland at a good friend’s house the morning after winning (the Greenland) award. I was feeling amazing, so I picked up this ukulele and started whistling this tune, and when I went home I immediately wrote the lyrics for it.”
Lakes of Canada plays at L’Escogriffe, 4467 St. Denis, St., Thursday at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door.