McIntoshRoss - The Great Lakes
The Great Lakes is a very lighthearted album, so if you are looking for something with a tougher edge or an actual electric guitar then turn away now. For those of you still reading, ‘The Great Lakes’ consists of twelve very similar tunes in a sense that each is made up of acoustic guitar and very placid and monotonous vocals. On ballads this styling is acceptable of course, as you need a tender touch to get the lyrics and emotions across. For three or four tracks this can be handled, but when the same elements are heard through practically every song, it gets tiresome and will make you yawn.
What makes it so dreary is the lack of beat as there is nothing to tap your toes to, move along with or chime in and attempt to sing along to. You can imagine these are meant to be slow moving songs aimed to achieve greatness through very little, but unfortunately they are more likely to make you feel bored. There is one exception to the consistent pattern and that is ‘Silver and Gold’ where there is a steady running upbeat (ish) melody, however it is still something soft.
Vocally the male/female combination complements each other really well seeing as both are subtle and can sing very well in tune. There are times when each takes it in turn to be the main focal point and take lead on a song, with the chiming in of the other on the chorus. However neither has strong tones and cannot be enjoyed to a great extent.
‘The Great Lakes’ is an album of talent being that they enjoy creating very restricted and restrained songs however they never shine or make the listener want to seek out more material or a live show. For many, this will probably be an album that will make you want to seek out a quite corner for a kip.