Lakes - Elysian Skies (2023) Hi Res

Formed in 2018, Watford's 'glock-rock' stalwarts Lakes have turned plenty of heads since emerging from the depths of Watford's DIY. Inspired by Midwestern emos American Football, drummer Matt Shaw decided to try his hand at writing songs again, and joined by Roberto Cappellina (vocals/guitar), the basis for 2 EPs (2018s 'The Tahoe EP' and 2019s 'The Geneva EP') and a full-length ('The Constance LP') took shape. Now, taking on the scene as a six-piece ensemble, Lakes quickly gained traction in 2020 with the release of their glittering second album 'Start Again', which saw them explore their fusion of math-pop time signatures and dual-vocals to craft a full-length steeped in their collective vulnerabilities and anxieties. Lauded by Line Of Best Fit as "a shining hopefulness at its core" and Washed Up Emo championing them as "Your new favourite band", Lakes spent the next two years breaking ground on on the UK live circuit, headlining their biggest show to date at The Lexington in London and conquering stages at ArcTanGent and Strange Forms Festivals. The band are settling into 2023 with their sights set on a metamorphosis, driven by a desire to forge themselves into something bigger and brighter than ever before. Step forth new album 'Elysian Skies'. Recorded with Tom Peters (Alpha Male Tea Party, The Fall, Vennart) at Trapdoor Studios in Liverpool, Lakes took to the studio to make their sound enormous, leaning into their penchant for positivity, charm and twinkling catharsis all while wrapping their themes in echoing guitar effects and soaring vocal harmonies. "We joke that 'The Constance' LP was our math-rock album, 'Start Again' our emo album, and this one, 'Elysian Skies' our Post-Rock album. This is why we went with Tom producing too - to make it as big as possible," says Shaw. "It definitely features some darker sections than we're used to (musically speaking), and I think is the first time we've found the right balance between all our various influences." Inspired by pop rock icons Fleetwood Mac, Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel and stimulated by the sonic legacies of their scene peers (The Appleseed Cast, TTNG, Broken Social Scene and Bon Iver), this time around Roberto Cappellina took a step back from lyric writing duties to split 50/50 with Blue Jenkins (vocals, glockenspiel, keys) before she took a step back from the band. The result? A record that focuses less on the band's collective anxieties and instead springs into the realms of joy, happiness and laughter. "This is the first time where I haven't been involved lyrically in every song, and it's exactly what we needed in order to evolve. With this in-mind, we kind of felt like we couldn't and to be honest, didn't want to write another anxiety-based record. You can only be in pain for so long, and after a while you need to do something with that pain, so we made a conscious effort to write about things that bring us deep joy; like being in a band, or the friends who have you hold.