Cascade Lakes is an awakening of sorts. In many respects. Albeit a late one.
It's a coming to terms with. A deep dive into the human condition. At its darkest.
A searing indictment. Harsh and tender, desperate and hopeful.
An accomplished work, compelling and deeply moving.
There is classic storytelling, cryptic imagery and analytical depiction.
Guitars, bass, drums, analog synths, mellotron, a pump organ and a (toy) piano.
Cascade Lakes is also Jan Schewe, Fabio Papais and Tobias Noormann. At the band's core. Indie rock with a refined pop sensibility. A nod to a formative time and a bold glimpse into the future.
From the cloud-like bewilderment of first single “Means to an End” and the pressing restlessness of “At the Seams” to the topical storytelling of “For the Record” and the crushing intimacy of album closer “Smoke and Mirrors”, the album is personal as much as it is universal. And a much-needed reminder that something beautiful can come out of something horrific.
Recorded in Cologne at Bear Cave Studio with Jan Niklas Jansen and Björn Sonnenberg-Schrank (Locas In Love) and mixed and mastered in San Francisco and Oakland at tiny telephone with Adam Hirsch (Sam Amidon) and Jacob Winik (Magnetic Fields, John Vanderslice), the album is set for a February 28 release.
Coming off of a run of shows with Wintersleep and a much-lauded performance at last year’s Reeperbahn Festival, the Hamburg-based band also opened for Lightning Dust on a few select dates of their European tour in December.
The album's artwork comprises of paintings by New England artist and label mate Jarid del Deo of Unbunny.