Great Lakes

Founded in Athens, Georgia, Great Lakes are a psychedelic-tinged indie pop/indie folk band led by songwriter Ben Crum. Their music walks a line between pastoral accents of Southern-bred indie folk and an artful, introspective mood reflecting the sometimes gloomy conceits of Crum's lyrics. In their early years, the group had ties to the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Elephant+6%22">Elephant 6</a> collective of offbeat pop bands, an era best represented by their self-titled debut LP from 2000. A more ambitious and full-bodied sound emerged when Crum settled on the East Coast, with 2006's Diamond Times emblematic of their stylistic growth. Great Lakes are also capable of making powerful guitar-based rock, and 2022's Contenders saw them embracing this side of their work.

The first edition of the group was assembled by Crum and Dan Donahue, two musically inclined friends who met in high school; they began writing songs together, with Donahue concentrating on lyrics and Crum contributing melodies. The two songwriters teamed up with multi-instrumentalist James Huggins, also a member of the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Elephant+6%22">Elephant 6</a> group <a href="spotify:artist:5xeBMeW0YzWIXSVzAxhM8O">Of Montreal</a>, to form the first edition of Great Lakes. After issuing a debut single on the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Happy+Birthday+to+Me%22">Happy Birthday to Me</a> label, the band's self-titled first album was released by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Kindercore+Records%22">Kindercore Records</a> in 2000. As Huggins was busy with <a href="spotify:artist:5xeBMeW0YzWIXSVzAxhM8O">Of Montreal</a> and a variety of other projects, he soon dropped out of Great Lakes, and the lineup became something of a revolving door, with Crum and Donahue overseeing the many players who performed with the group on-stage or in the studio.

Crum and Donahue relocated to Brooklyn, New York, and released the second Great Lakes album, The Distance Between, on <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Orange+Twin%22">Orange Twin</a> in 2002. Diamond Times followed in 2006, but in 2009 Donahue opted to return to Athens, and Crum became the band's primary creative voice, writing both the music and words while fronting a group that had swelled to nine members. Ways of Escape, the first album from Great Lakes' Crum-led lineup, was released by <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Orange+Twin%22">Orange Twin</a> in 2010.

Crum began work on Great Lakes' next record in 2011, but the project was set aside for several years before he teamed with keyboardist Joe McGinty, vocalist Suzanne Nienaber, bassist David Lerner, and drummer Kevin Shea to complete the recordings. The album, Wild Vision, was released through the group's own <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Loose+Trucks%22">Loose Trucks</a> label in January 2016. Two years later, the band delivered another full-length, Dreaming Too Close to the Edge, again via <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Loose+Trucks%22">Loose Trucks</a>. For 2022's Contenders, Crum brought Suzanne Nienaber and Kevin Shea back to the studio, along with Chris Ziter of <a href="spotify:artist:2hLQppESVnOV9ntMD3uA4G">the Essex Green</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:6gsEOKx8Z0CkVviR9DC3W6">Louis Schefano</a> of Little Red Rocket, and <a href="spotify:artist:3Caot8EtHX6wLpNF2wRzS0">Glen Hansard</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:6igfLpd8s6DBBAuwebRUuo">Josh Ritter</a> sideman Ray Rizzo. Produced by Crum, Contenders saw Great Lakes returning to the roster of <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Happy+Birthday+to+Me+Records%22">Happy Birthday to Me Records</a>. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi