GREAT LAKE SWIMMERS : UNCERTAIN COUNTRY

  1. Uncertain Country
  2. When The Storm Has Passed
  3. I Tried To Reach You
  4. Since January
  5. Swimming Like Flying
  6. On A Ship
  7. Moonlight, Stay Above
  8. Riverine
  9. Quiet Before The Storm
  10. Into It
  11. Promise Of Spring
  12. Think, Think
  13. Respect For All Living Things
  14. Flight Paths
  15. Am I Floating In The Air

Label : Fontana North

Release Date : April 28, 2023

Length : 45:40

Review : “Doubt, followed by discovery. Demos that ended up as finished tracks. New beginnings, rear-view reflections, and ruminations on the fluidity of time: Great Lake Swimmers’ Uncertain Country captures these feelings — and so much more. This celebration, 11-songs long, follows a prolonged period of collective anxiety. Though recorded in different locales — and with a variety of musicians — a theme of questioning runs throughout. Even before the world turned upside down, singer-songwriter Tony Dekker felt mired in uncertainty: From the climate crisis and the ever-changing political landscape to deep shifts within the music industry. The “uncertain country” Dekker chose as the album’s theme is not a specific place. Rather, it’s a territory we, as humans, inhabit in the 21st century — a world that, more often than not, is confusing, unfamiliar and unsettling. The long journey from there to here started more than three years ago, when Dekker took a 10-day trip to one of his favorite places: The north shore of Lake Superior. A pair of friends and collaborators: Adam CK Vollick (who filmed the experience) and Joe Lapinski (who co-produced Uncertain Country) joined him. On this immersive trip, the songwriter soaked in the beauty of the landscapes and learned the stories of the people who have inhabited them since time immemorial. The songs that open Uncertain Country, the title track and When The Storm Has Passed, were recorded at the Oddfellows Temple Hall in St. Catharines, Ontario in September 2020. These jubilant sessions, following five months of unease, were a much-needed release for Dekker and his band. Both songs capture the album’s themes of the elasticity of time and processing change. Making this joyful noise together again set a tone — and direction — for the record. The music morphed from hushed and folky to a more comforting, curated listening experience, acting as a kind of salve. One hears echoes of some of Dekker’s early 1990s influences: Propeller-pop and indie lo-fi bands like Teenage Fanclub, Galaxie 500 and Buffalo Tom. The rest of the songs on Uncertain Country were recorded in other acoustically distinctive locations close to Dekker’s home in the Niagara Region. Locales included the Silver Spire United Church in downtown St. Catharines and a pair of buildings in Ball’s Falls Conservation Area in the village of Jordan Station: An old chapel that featured a pump organ and a historic barn on the same property. Long-time Great Lake Swimmers member and multi-instrumentalist Bret Higgins is featured on many of the songs, as is keyboardist Kelsey McNulty. Guests include newcomers and old friends: The group Minuscule, an all-woman identifying choir based in the Niagara Region, led by choral arranger Laurel Minnes, and Juno winner Serena Ryder, who sings on a pair of songs: I Tried to Reach You and Swimming Like Flying. Moonlight, Stay Above epitomizes what Great Lake Swimmers represents. The 10-voice strong choir lifts the lonely-sounding and wistful song up. As with that addition, the band on each album is fluid and always evolving. It always starts and ends with Dekker, but the songs themselves suggest what players and instrumentation might fit best with each new recording and touring band. Twenty years since Great Lake Swimmers’ first self-titled release, Uncertain Country shows a songwriter at the top of his craft with so much more to say. In a time of uncertainty, one thing is certain: Great Lake Swimmers’ first collection of new songs in five years is worth the wait.”

Review (4AD) : Twintig jaar na het allereerste album komt Great Lake Swimmers nu met een langverwachte nieuwe plaat. Op ‘Uncertain Country’ toont Tony Dekker zich aan de top van zijn vak, met nog heel wat verhalen te vertellen. Zoals bij elke plaat nam Dekker de nummers op verschillende locaties op, met een waaier aan muzikanten. Maar het thema van het album blijft constant: onzekerheid. Over het klimaat, het politieke landschap, de muziekindustrie, de 21e eeuw en een wereld die vaker wel dan niet verwarrend, onbekend en verontrustend is. Maar in plaats van zich te nestelen in die negatieve gedachten, grijpt Dekker de kans om uit die onzekerheid op zoek te gaan naar nieuw hoofdstukken, zelfreflectie en dieper in te gaan op het bizarre concept van tijd. Het resultaat zijn 11 nummers die een viering zijn van het leven, in plaats van te blijven hangen in het verleden. Nog steeds de diepe melancholie, de nachtegalenstem van Dekker, maar dit keer iets steviger dan we gewoon zijn.