Review: Lake Street Dive Casts a Wide Genre Net on 'Obviously'

Being the guy who is always promoting this “Americana” thing that no one has ever heard of, I am always looking for a good “gateway drug” to the genre. Someone as accessible as The Lumineers, but with more weight. Someone as strong as The Avett Brothers, but with a little more range to truly capture just how broad the Americana umbrella is without having to create a 4 hour Spotify playlist. More often than not the band I land on is Lake Street Dive. Their new album Obviously, out now, is further proof that they're perfect for that role.

“Hard to put into a genre category” is so synonymous with Americana that if it's mentioned about a band, it's extremely pronounced. That's always been the case with Lake Street Dive and is even more so on Obviously. There's definite elements of alt-country in everything they do, but also a healthy dose of soul, a little funk, and a near obsessive fascination with '70s and '80s AOR rock (or “Yacht Rock” if you prefer the term, which I don't).

If they weren't already eclectic (that's the nice way people say weird but fun) enough, for Obviously, the band worked with producer Mike Elizondo, better known for his work with Dr. Dre, Eminem, and Fiona Apple than Americana acts. The result doesn't have the band coming “Straight Outta Compton”, but it does double down on the soul side of their work.

Another huge boost for the band on Obviously is making touring keyboardist Akie Bermiss a permanent member of the band, as well as a second lead vocalist on album standout “Same Old News.” Bermiss and primary vocalist Rachael Price meld together beautifully on a song that sounds a bit like Michael McDonald wrote a song for Luther Vandross and Patty Griffin to duet. If you secretly embedded it into an '80s gentle soul duets compilation, very few people would think it wasn't a hit from the era that they'd missed.

Unfortunately, that's Bermiss' only chance at leads, but fortunately it is not Price's. Every member of Lake Street Dive is brilliant at what they do, but the power of the band is in Price's ability to flow from genre to genre without ever missing a beat. On “Nobody's Stopping You Now”, she sings the most “country” of the album's songs over a gentle piano background. It's as gentle a song of female empowerment as you'll ever hear, but it's only made more powerful by being understated.

“Know That I Know” is a pop ditty utilizing the familiar trope of comparing a relationship to things that naturally go together. In other hands it would be a tired retread, but it's saved by Price's absolute full-sell of the concept and the lengths they go to find original comparisons. How many other love songs contain “you're the Kirk to my Spock?”

But there is also an edge of social consciousness on the album. “Being a Woman” not so gently reminds that “when we protest, we're called an angry mob. While some lone gunman loads up his shot.” “Making Do” is an apology to the next generation for the mess we've made of the environment for them to clean up. “Hush Money” expresses envy for political and corporate operatives who fail up into multi-million dollar golden parachutes.

While it might not satisfy the purists, Obviously is an album that is absolutely worth the listen for people knew to the Americana term or those who just like an album of smart songs with infectious hooks and a few important messages sewed in.