Great Lake Swimmers
New Wild Everywhere is the follow-up to Great Lake Swimmers’ critically acclaimed, Polaris Music Prize shortlisted and Juno nominated 2009 album Lost Channels. Their fifth album in just under a decade, this new collection of 12 tracks reveals a depth and maturity previously only hinted at by lead singer and songwriter Tony Dekker.
Featuring the touring band from Lost Channels (with long-time collaborator Erik Arnesen on banjo and guitar, along with new addition Miranda Mulholland contributing backing vocals and violin, Bret Higgins on upright bass, and Lost Channels drummer Greg Millson), New Wild Everywhere thematically picks up where the previous album left off, exploring transcendence in the natural world to describe the universal themes of love, mortality and escape.
Throughout New Wild Everywhere, there is an elemental energy that moves from physical to spiritual and from the immediate present to an all-encompassing future, all represented by Dekker’s ability to weave insightful lyrics into deceptively simple, hook-laden tunes. This is perhaps best exemplified by lead single “Easy Come Easy Go,” the most upbeat and up-tempo song ever penned by Dekker, which explores finding a center to grasp amidst a chaotic and often temporary world.
Dekker has spent the last decade entrancing listeners with his unforgettable voice and compelling songwriting. Great Lake Swimmers have long been a word-of-mouth favorite in their home country of Canada for whom critical mass was inevitable. They’ve been regarded as a national treasure by the CBC, with Lost Channels (2009) topping the charts at CBC Radio 3 and on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter Chart. In the U.S., Lost Channels debuted at #10 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart and was a favorite among influential bloggers and NPR staff. The band has received public endorsements by the likes of Feist, Robert Plant, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams and cyclist Lance Armstrong. The latter two have both raved about the band on their personal websites; the former have handpicked the band to open shows and whole tours. Josh Groban has been known to open his show with a Great Lake Swimmers cover, and the band has shared the stage with such varied artists as Calexico, Sarah Harmer, Bela Fleck & The Sparrow Quartet, Hayden, Sloan, Goldfrapp, and Bill Callahan of Smog.