Bad Self Portraits

AlbumFeb 18 / 201411 songs, 39m 28s
Rhythm & Blues
Noteable

The members of Boston’s Lake Street Dive met at the New England Conservatory, where they imagined themselves as future jazz musicians. Playing together brought out their many influences, and the band now proves adept at soul, R&B, British Invasion rock, and new wave pop-rock. The loud, slashing guitars of “Stop Your Crying” prove they have a tough edge, courtesy of trumpet-playing guitarist Mike “McDuck” Olson. But it’s singer Rachael Price who sings above the glorious din with an urgent nerve that can be dialed down for the smooth adult pop of “Better Than.” There’s a light, easy flow to their musicianship that makes everything they play sound completely natural. It’s no surprise when they flash Motown credentials on the vocally rich “You Go Down Smooth”—or nail down so much with just bassist Bridget Kearney and drummer Mike Calabrese laying out the groove on “Use Me Up.” Their knowledge, their talents, their smarts, and their ability to bring it together in an emotionally compelling way is no hype; it\'s the very thing that defines superior musicianship everywhere. 

7.5 / 10

Lake Street Dive, a Brooklyn-based four-piece emerging from the jazzy enclaves of New England College of Music, was originally conceived as a pop side-project.

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Bad Self Portraits provides fire-hose-level torrents of energy and hip-swaying modulations of tone, rhythm, and instrumentation.

8 / 10