Photo Credit: Adam CK Vollick
GREAT LAKE SWIMMERS SHARE NEW SINGLE + VIDEO FOR “SWIMMING LIKE FLYING”
CANADIAN FALL TOUR DATES FOR SEPTEMBER TO NOVEMBER 2023 WILL BE ANNOUNCED SOON
Great Lake Swimmers are elated to release their newest album, Uncertain Country (Harbour Songs / Fontana) today. This new album marks the band’s first release in nearly five years, and compliments the group’s two decades deep musical catalogue. It is accompanied by another kaleidoscopic swirl of imagery and lyrics for new album single, “Swimming Like Flying.”WATCH + SHARE “Swimming Like Flying” HERE + above.LISTEN TO + SHARE “Swimming Like Flying” HERE.GET UNCERTAIN COUNTRY HERE.A lengthy fall tour itinerary will be announced shortly, with pre-sale ticketing details to come and will see the band cross Canada over September, October and November 2023. A full listing of current dates follows below and all ticket links are HERE. Great Lake Swimmers emerged twenty years ago as a songwriting vehicle for band leader and songwriter, Tony Dekker, with a series of atmospheric albums recorded in old silos and rural country churches. Ever since, Dekker has continued to create acoustically-inclined compositions, with layered, lush and intimate recordings that linger long.
This newest celebration, 11-songs long, follows a prolonged period of collective anxiety. Though recorded in different locales—largely around the Niagara region, and with a variety of musicians—a theme of questioning runs throughout. Even before the world turned upside down, 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 21stcentury — a world that, more often than not, is confusing, unfamiliar and unsettling.Doubt, followed by discovery. Demos that ended up as finished tracks. New beginnings, rear-view reflections, and ruminations on the fluidity of time, these were the key drivers and realities of Uncertain Country. What started out four years ago as a 10-day trip to the north shore of Lake Superior, inspired a collection of musical field recordings at various locations around the Niagara region (where Dekker now lives) and served as the album’s organic recording studio.“Long-time Great Lake Swimmers listeners will find much that they know, from a strong current of nature imagery to Dekker’s wistful & emotive vocal delivery, but also plenty of new territory to discover. Those who are new to the band will find a rich variety of emotional dynamics & musical approaches that still has a coherent core. ‘Uncertain Country’ stands as some of the strongest & most consistent work by one of Canada’s best bands” – Great Dark WonderIn addition to the title track, “Uncertain Country” Great Lake Swimmers have also previewed a duo of tracks taken from the new LP. The first, “When the Storm Has Passed” according to Dekker is “about changes, moving…looking backwards and forwards…the elasticity of time.” Coupled with “Moonlight, Stay Above” which conjures loneliness in its, wistful tune. In a voice barely above a whisper, Dekker pleads: “don’t strand me and leave me alone” and song culminates with whistling – usually a solitary act, but then the 10 voices of Minuscule—an all-woman identifying choir based in Niagara region led by choral arranger Laurel Minnes—rises behind him to offer hope and reassurance.Dekker also notes that this song in particular epitomizes what Great Lake Swimmers represents. “The band is fluid and always evolving. It starts and ends with my writing, but the songs themselves suggest what players and instruments might fit best with each new record and version of the live touring band.”Details about the upcoming Canadian fall tour, ticketing pre-sale details and more, will follow soon.
UNCERTAIN COUNTRY TRACK LIST
1. Uncertain Country2. When the Storm Has Passed3. I Tried to Reach You4. Since January5. Swimming Like Flying6. On A Ship7. Moonlight, Stay Above8. Riverine 9. Quiet Before the Storm10. Into It11. Promise of Spring12. Think, Think13. Respect for all Living Things14. Flight Paths15. Am I Floating in the Air
GREAT LAKE SWIMMERS – UPCOMING TOUR DATESMay 23 @ Trailside Music Hall – Charlottetown, PEIMay 25 @ The Cap – Fredericton, NBMay 26 @ St Matthew’s United Church – Halifax, NSMay 27 @ Area 506 Container Village – Saint John, NBMay 28 @ L’Anti – Quebec City, QCAugust 11 @ Abbey Gardens – Haliburton, ONAugust 18 @ The Hayloft – Prince Edward County, ON