Genre: Midwest Emo, Indie Rock
"Your sorrys are useless now. Your words mean nothing to me now."
As gentle as a child’s music box, the arpeggiated chords from the guitar set the scene for the song "Canada" by Laketown AKA Andres. What immediately catches my attention is the very clear production and bright tone of the notes. Each one gets to breathe and you can enjoy the beauty in the tone. It leads us to the beginning verse of the song where there’s much more complexity from the addition of the drums, bass, and vocals. I noticed how the drums play along the same beat as the guitar. I wish there could have been a few drum fills added in but what’s there is already cool. I’m a big fan of how funky the beat is! The whole vibe reminds me of the band American Football, and I’m a fan of theirs. They create a special, nostalgic presence in their music and I think that Andres did the same with “Canada”.
While there’s a really nice atmosphere, I think there could be more dynamics in production. When the verse comes in, you want the volume of the instruments to be a bit softer so that the vocals really shine and you can hear the lyrics and connect with the singer. I know that there are some really meaningful lyrics Andres is singing, but I can’t hear them as clearly as I hoped! There’s a lot of passion he’s bringing, but it is on the verge of being overwhelmed by the instrumentation, aside from the bridge of the song where he sings, “Your sorrys are useless now. Your words mean nothing to me now”. Here I was able to be emotionally impacted by the lyrics because they were given the spotlight.
Something that also relates to dynamics and is directly impacted by how they’re utilized is the structure of the song. While I can appreciate the beauty in the vocals and instrumentation, the song is missing strong indicators of when the verse, chorus, bridge, and ending begin and end. Strong musical cues in the structure of a song heighten its listenability and leave listeners with something catchy to remember. I hear the moments in the song when the instruments cut out or simplify a bit in their rhythm, but I think these moments could have been placed more appropriately. I just want to be able to physically pick them up and move them around the structure of the song like a little puzzle.
Overall, while I would want to change a couple of things like the dynamics, and add in stronger form indicators, I think this is a great first release for Laketown. The song is a great representation of Andres’ skill at writing and producing. The instrument parts are written really well, the lyrics are honest, and he has a nice voice. I hope to hear more of his music in the future and see how his artistry continues to evolve!
Be sure to check out Laketown and stream his song, “Canada” everywhere you listen to music!
For fans of:
American Football
Basement
Starry Cat
Follow Laketown on Instagram: https://instagram.com/capnmcnugget?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Stream "Canada" on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/0T7t9nf4kGniyOozmdMWal?si=7ksUadY5RIaEMVuyKkmqCg&dd=1
Stream "Canada" on Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/canada/1670788521?i=1670788522&ls
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