Lake Street Dive – Good Together
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Lake Street Dive
Good Together – BIO
Lake Street Dive have pushed the possibilities of pop music as a unifying force, not only through their eclectic sound—a boldly original cross-pollination of soul, folk, jazz, classic pop, and more—the five-piece’s all-embracing ethos has also made them a beloved live band known for building a potent connection among every crowd. In the making of their new album Good Together, vocalist Rachael Price, bassist/background vocalist Bridget Kearney, drummer/background vocalist Mike Calabrese, keyboardist/vocalist Akie Bermiss, and guitarist/background vocalist James Cornelison reinforced the deep sense of purpose behind their output, often turning their attention to the many factors driving us apart today (e.g., unchecked technological growth, culturally imposed isolation, the cult of relentless self-optimization). Born from a mindset they refer to as “joyful rebellion,” Good Together arrives as a body of work both gloriously defiant and primed to inspire unbridled dancing and ecstatic singing-along.
“There’s a lot to be angry about in the world right now, a lot of pain and rage and divisiveness, but it isn’t sustainable to constantly live in that anger—you need something else to keep you going,” says Calabrese. “Joy is a great way to sustain yourself, and we wanted to encourage everyone to stay aware of that. In a way this album is our way of saying, ‘Take your joy very seriously.’”
In keeping with that spirit of communal uplift, Lake Street Dive’s eighth full-length marks the first time they’ve ever worked together in the earliest and most vulnerable stages of songwriting. Back in early 2023, the band’s members met up at Calabrese’s home studio in Vermont and spent nearly a week generating new songs, catalyzing the process with the help of a 20-sided die (a holdover from the many Zoom-based Dungeons & Dragons matches held by Bermiss and Kearney during lockdown). “The captain of a particular song would roll the die, and the result would decide the chords, the meter, and the tempo for that song,” Kearney explains. “We’d take those elements and jam for a while, go our separate ways and come up with lyrics and melodies, then come back together and workshop everything. It ended up taking us to new places we never would’ve gotten to otherwise, in terms of things like harmony and tempo and groove.” Along with expanding their musical palette and expressive range, that highly collaborative approach helped the band reach a new level of intimacy. “In the past we’d written pieces of songs and shared them with each other and built them up from there, but we always had the space to listen and reflect in total privacy,” says Price. “At first it was terrifying to write together in the same room, but as soon as we got started it felt so fun. We very quickly realized, ‘Oh, we need to do this again and again.’”
The follow-up to Obviously—a 2021 LP acclaimed by the likes of Rolling Stone, who noted that “[a]t a moment when pop strives for lo-fi, solitary-world intimacy, the jazz-pop-whatever band refuse to think small”—Good Together finds Lake Street Dive working again with Grammy-winning producer Mike Elizondo (Fiona Apple, Sheryl Crow, Gary Clark Jr.) and recording at his Phantom Studios in Tennessee. With its sonic landscape encompassing everything from R&B to funk to Brazilian pop, the album opens on the radiant synth of its title track: an exultant duet between Bermiss and Price that arose from a happy accident. “‘Good Together’ came from a dice roll where I was captain, but when I went to go work on the production I cut it up wrong and ended up with a very weird time signature,” Bermiss recalls. “It somehow worked anyway, and Bridget came up with the narrative of two people from dubious backgrounds and trying to start over together.” One of several tracks featuring the horn section from Brooklyn-based jazz band Huntertones, the result is a left-of-center love song celebrating the thrill of defying expectation and following your heart’s desire.
Next, on “Dance with a Stranger,” Lake Street Dive once again prove their undeniable gift for crafting feel-good songs with an illuminating message. “I went on a solo writing retreat in Kingston, New York, and ended up attending a square dance at a VFW hall,” says Kearney in discussing the song’s origins. “It was a group of people from all generations and all walks of life, all there dancing together, which made me think, ‘What if we could write a song that helped to create that kind of connection at our shows?’” Lit up in lush grooves, glistening textures, and exuberant gang vocals calling out instruction (“Left, right, front, side/Find somebody new and then/Take them by the hand and/Say you understand”), “Dance with a Stranger” ultimately achieves the singular feat of inducing a carefree euphoria while gently fostering empathy.
Although much of Good Together emerged from Lake Street Dive’s incisive observation of the outside world, many songs mine inspiration from the intricacies of their own lives. To that end, “Walking Uphill” took shape as Price thumbed through her journal from seven years earlier, then transformed a series of underlined passages into a gripping meditation on the work of self-repair. “It’s about the idea of toil turning into something beautiful, so we wanted it to sound intense and gritty but with some catharsis at the end,” notes Price, whose vocals shift into exquisitely raw abandon in the track’s final moments. Originated by Calabrese, the luminous and summery “Seats at the Bar” puts a sweetly playful twist on the classic love song, unfolding in tropicália-esque rhythms and the breezy but elegant percussion of guest musician Abe Rounds (Andrew Bird, Blake Mills, Emily King). “When my wife and I first met she was in the wine industry, and sometimes I’d visit restaurants with her and we’d end up staying for dinner and sitting at the bar,” says Calabrese. “It was fun to write a love song about bucking trends in our own little way—sort of like, ‘Enjoy your fancy table with your fancy tablecloth; we’ll be over here eating french fries and having a good time together.’” And on “Twenty-Five,” Price delivers a stark and lovely ballad steeped in tender reminiscence of a long-ago romance, her voice accompanied only by Bermiss’ gorgeously understated performance on piano. “It’s about a great love that was never meant to last, but you still end up carrying it with you for the rest of your life,” says Kearney. “I thought that was a beautiful sentiment, but it also ties into the theme of the album and the whole question of, ‘How can we as a species continue to love one another, in spite of all the challenges we face?’”
All throughout Good Together, Lake Street Dive reveal the immense expanse of their musicality and expressive imagination. On “Better Not Tell You,” for instance, the band presents a ’70s-funk-inspired dance track Bermiss originally penned from the perspective of the three witches in Macbeth, while “Far Gone” serves up a bouncy piece of psych-rock exploring what Price sums up as “this existential crisis where we’re all realizing we’re addicted to technology before we even got a chance to take a step back from it.” Closing out the album with the dreamlike grandeur of “Set Sail (Prometheus & Eros)”—a Bermiss-Price duet featuring a spellbinding string arrangement from Rob Moose (The National, St. Vincent, Bon Iver)—Lake Street Dive also endlessly tap into the palpable camaraderie that’s fueled the band since they formed in Boston back in 2004.
Lake Street Dive continue to fully embody the effusive sense of togetherness and mutual care embraced throughout Good Together. “At this point our tastes in music differ more than they ever have, but we’re still able to bring all those influences together with a real love and respect for the diversity within the band,” says Price. “I think the main thing that’s kept us going over the years is that very strong foundation of friendship—everyone has a voice, everyone gets heard, and we’re all really careful about looking out for each other’s happiness.”
ARTIST: Lake Street Dive
TITLE: Good Together
LABEL: Fantasy Records
STREET DATE: June 21, 2024
Produced by Mike Elizondo
Recorded and Mixed by Justin Francis at Phantom Studios, Gallatin, TN
Assisted by Erica Block and Alex Wilder
Mastered by Chris Gehringer at Sterling Sound
Photography by Shervin Lainez
Package Design by Desi Moore & Tommy Steele
Rachael Price – lead vocals
Michael Calabrese – drums, vocals
Bridget Kearney – bass, vocals
James Cornelison – guitar, vocals
Akie Bermiss – keys, vocals
Abe Rounds – percussion
Jon Lampley – trumpet, flugelhorn
Dan White – saxophones
Chris Ott – trombone
Rob Moose – strings
Horns performed by Huntertones Horns: Jon Lampley, Trumpet, Dan White, Saxophones, Chris Ott, Trombone (“Good Together,” “Help Is On the Way,” “Better Not Tell You,” “Party On the Roof”).
“Good Together” horns arranged by Huntertones Horns, Mike Elizondo, and Bridget Kearney
“Party On The Roof” horns arranged by Huntertones Horns and Mike Elizondo
“Help Is On the Way,” “Better Not Tell You,” horns arranged by Jon Lampley and Mike Elizondo
Thank you: Emily Lichter, Jared Herman, Katie Benson, Ryan Durocher, Anna “AFW” Watson, Ian MacGregor, Dave Digiacomo, Michael Darovitz, Andrew Froehlich, Kagan Trombley, James Cornelison, Duffy McSwiggin, Leigh Millhauser, Edgar Gankendorff, Michael Nelson, Ashley Jaiprashad, Margi Cheski, Stephanie Hopson, and everyone at Fantasy Records, Greg Sowders, Mike Elizondo, Justin Francis, Erica Block, Alex Wilder, Abe Rounds, Jon Lampley, Dan White, Chris Ott, Rob Moose, Shervin Lainez, Tommy Steele, Mike “McDuck” Olson, The Jenkins Family, Maeve Gilchrist, Logan Coale, Rebecca Wood, Bethany the Neighbor, Nathan the Chaotic and Makku.
Artist Representation/Management: Emily Lichter, public emily artist management
℗ & © 2024 Lake Street Dive Music, Inc. Under exclusive license to Fantasy Records. Manufactured for and Distributed by Concord, 10 Lea Avenue, Suite 300, Nashville, TN 37210. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws. FAN02205
Good Together
I know I know I’m not the first one to sweep you off your feet
But I believe we can make it
Back where I came from they’re coming after me
With you I feel like escaping
And if you stay by my side
I know a place we can hide
With many earthly delights
And even better
We could be good together
We could be good together
Let’s knock on wood together
It feels so good to be good together
I don’t know if it’s right but I know that I’m having fun
This might be the first good thing I’ve done
We could be good together
We could be good together
Let’s knock on wood together
It feels so good to be good together
I hope I hope you don’t feel bad about how good we can be
Every sinner has a soft side
I hope you don’t get down and out when love isn’t mean
Cuz I’ll be your Mr. Nice Guy
And if you stay by my side
I know a wrong way to be right
With many earthly delights
And even better
We could be good together
We could be good together
Let’s knock on wood together
It feels so good to be good together
Dance With a Stranger
Look around the room
Find someone’s eyes that are new to you
Might be a child’s or a grandfather’s
Anyone will do
Go say “hello”
“How do you do?”
Listen to their answer
Commiserate
Say I feel that way sometimes too
Would you like dance
And if they say no that’s okay
But if they say yes take their hand
Lead them out on the dance floor
Listen to the music
And open up your heart
Dance
Dance with a stranger
Til they’re not a stranger anymore
Dance
Dance with a stranger
Til they’re not a stranger anymore
Not a stranger anymore
Look around the room
There are so many people here like you
People who came here to be together
And dance it all away
Who wanna be good
And love one another
And have big dreams
And hard times and like to dance
Look around the room
Find somebody you’ve never seen before
And lead them out to the dance floor
And dance
Dance with a stranger
Til they’re not a stranger anymore
Dance
Dance with a stranger
Til they’re not a stranger anymore
Not a stranger anymore
And dance
Dance with a stranger
Til they’re not a stranger anymore
Dance
Dance with a stranger
Til they’re not a stranger anymore
Not a stranger anymore
(Left, right, front, side
Find somebody new and then
Take them by the hand and
Say you understand)
Far Gone
Ready or not now here it comes
Hold on
Whether or not you wanted some
It’s on
Yeah it’s already
Far gone, ain’t it
Far gone, and I
Didn’t see it comin’ and now it’s everywhere I go
Yeah it’s
Far gone, aint it
Far gone, and there
Ain’t no use in running, it’s far gone
Welcome to the deep end
Get ready for the dive
Right on
What a truly terrifying thrill to be alive
Hang on
Cuz it’s already
Far gone, ain’t it
Far gone, and I
Didn’t see it coming and now it’s everywhere I go
Yeah it’s
Far gone, ain’t it
Far gone, and there
Ain’t no use in running, it’s far gone
These melting waters on me
I wish the cavemen could see
Where starting fires can lead
Yeah we’re already
Far gone, in it
Far gone, in it
Didn’t see it coming and now it’s everywhere I go
Yeah we’re
Far gone, in it
Far gone, in it
Ain’t no turning back, we’re far gone
Get Around
If you gotta problem
Then you can be sure
Where there’s one
Then there’s more
You gotta get around
If you got an answer
And you’re standing your ground
And you know the only one to be found
Baby, you gotta get around
You might be a king now
You got the world at your feet
Worshipped by everyone that you meet
You still might have to get around
Cause all them people
That came to kiss the hem of your gown
Might wanna put a new head in your crown
And you gon’ have to get around
Ain’t no king or queen exempt from
Trouble come to call
Everybody’s got to do the time
It’s an odd misapprehension
Common to us all
That the shortest path between us is a line
If you’ve got a problem
And it’s right in your way
Well I’ve got one thing to say
To you:
Get around
Get around
Get around
Get around
Help Is On The Way
Softer skin
Harder muscles
Inner peace
Outer hustle
Spend my days
Spend my money
Trying to help myself
(Help myself)
Bigger dreams
Smaller ego
Less machines
More libido
All the ways
All the time
I’m trying to help myself
But I can’t help myself help myself help me
No I can’t help myself so help me get free
What if all of us out helping ourselves
Could help somebody else?
Help is on the way.
Help is on the way.
No excess
In my diet
But supplements
Yeah, I’ll buy it
Tonics, tinctures
You know I’ll try it
I’m trying to help myself
(Help myself)
Longer life
Lower tension
Endless knowledge
No retention
I forget now
Did I mention?
I’m trying to help myself
But I can’t help myself help myself help me
No I can’t help myself so help me to see
That if all of us out helping ourselves
Could help somebody else
Help is on the way
Help is on the way
Help is on the way
Self-acceptance
Got no nearer
My perception
Got no clearer
From all this staring
In the mirror
Trying to help myself
(Help myself)
But just when I thought
I’d hit my limit
I saw that all of us
Are here in it
And I forgot
For just one minute
About trying to help myself
Cause I can’t help myself help myself help me
No I can’t help myself so help me believe
That if all of us out helping ourselves
Would help somebody else
If all of us out helping ourselves
Could help somebody else
If all of us out helping ourselves
Could help somebody else
Help is on the way
Help is on the way
Walking Uphill
I don’t know when the switch happened
Picking up my clothes and putting them back in the cabinet
I don’t know when I stopped crying
But now that I’m empty
I can just fill up my cup
It feels like I’m walking uphill now
But I’m on my way
I’m on my way
I feel like I’m walking uphill now
But I’m on my way
I don’t know when it stopped
The sound of my phone ringing
Bills on the table
The constant alarms ringing
Open my eyes
A light on the mountain
I see my way out
It feels like I’m walking uphill now
But I’m on my way
I’m on my way
I feel like I’m walking uphill now
But I’m on my way
(I quit my complaining
Embrace all my pain and I
Wasn’t ready for
What the road had ahead
Slay me play me say we haven’t got a clue
May be right but we’ll
Just filling my cup)
It feels like I’m walking uphill now
But I’m on my way
I’m on my way
It’s all getting pretty damn real now
But I’m on my way
I’m on my way
Better Not Tell You
Don’t paint me a picture
I’ve read the writing on the wall
I got me a system
I don’t even need a crystal ball
This sweet premonition
Is pretty convincing, after all
Cause I’m sure I know what the future holds
And what cards are gonna fall
Oh but i better not tell you, better not tell you now
I got a secret, baby
Better not tell you, better not tell you now
I’m gonna keep it.
I don’t know if you’ve heard
But, baby, actions speak louder than words
So I better not tell you, better not tell you now
It’s fairly hard to be patient
Waiting for the future to unfold
It’s a keen observation
Saying that fortune favors the bold
I got a prognostication
If you could give me your hand to hold
I would have no doubt,
I could go all out
But when you’re leaning in so close…
Oh but I better not tell you, better not tell you now
I caught a feeling
Better not tell you, better not tell you now
Up to the ceiling
We could leave it in the hands of fate
Or we could take a leap of faith
Either way, i better not tell you
Better not tell you now.
All in good time
I’ll tell you everything
Oh but I
Better not tell you, etc.
Seats at the Bar
Dimly lit and the music’s loud
Makes no difference to us if there’s a crowd
Don’t give your name, don’t stand in line
Don’t believe the fuss, we don’t have the time
We just breeze on in the door
No reservation, say no more
No, There’s no need where we are
In our seats at the bar
Sidle up and Look around
You and I are the skyline of this town
The fancy cars park at two tops
Topping off their tanks with Chateauneuf du Pape
You know where they can stick their labels
Just 86 the cloth and the table
Cause there’s no need where we are
In our seats at the bar
No I don’t care where we are
Cause it’s always been
You and me, feeling free
Knee to knee, heart to heart
Bittersweet in mason jars
In our seats at the bar
Is it where we met, not long ago
That we’re obsessed for reasons I don’t know
Just tell me any time, till we depart
Any midway between forever and the start
Baby, won’t you meet me, we’ll try for a corner
And I won’t need any prior warning
No, there’s no need where we are
In our seats at the bar
No I don’t care where we are
Cause it’s always been
You and me, feeling free
Knee to knee, heart to heart
Bittersweet in mason jars
In our seats at the bar
(à nos places au comptoir)
Twenty-Five
There was a time when I imagined us forever
I can’t quite remember how I thought we’d work it out
I guess I would move to California or you to Boston
And I’d learn to like to stay at home
Or you’d learn to like going out
And although the stories that I tell myself about us now
Don’t take me to the grave
I’ll be an old woman with somebody else by my side
But I will always be in love with you in my memories
When we were twenty-five
I always think of you when I drink affogatos
Cause that summer we would have them every afternoon
The hot and cold was such a perfect combination
Melt all together, bitter, sweet and creamy and always gone too soon
But all of the joy we had and love we gave away back then
Well, it never went to waste
Cause I’ll be an old woman with somebody else by my side
But I will always be in love with how you loved me
When we were twenty-five
Party on the Roof
Summer in the city
Getting hotter every year
We’ll have to throw a party
When the smoke clears
Hit the bodega
Grab a couple beers
Tell all of the neighbors
To come on over here
Cause there’s a party on the roof
It’s a party on the roof
Back at home in Nashville
We used to party in the fields
And out in Pennsylvania
They party in the steel
Well here in New York City
We don’t have a lot of space
But I know a lot of nice people
And I know a little place
Let’s have a party on the roof
A party on the roof
Oh I love my old building
On the corner of the park
Watch the city from the fire escape
See it glimmer in the dark
I hear church bells in the morning
Call to Prayer in afternoon
By the time it hits the weekend
Well you know what we’ll be doing
We’ll have a party on the roof
(Hey everybody there’s a party, there’s a party on the roof)
A party on the roof
(Hey everybody there’s a party, there’s a party on the roof)
Set Sail (Prometheus & Eros)
Hold my hand
While we land
I can’t believe that we made it
Natural explorers, we
Unnatural disasters
Beset us from the start
Threatening to break my heart
Set sail
Unto the breach once more
[EROS]
Take this gift
From my lips
A kiss can’t be lost in translation
Off into the twilight, we
So often that the gods might regret their angry vows
Hoping to join us now
Let’s sail
Unto the breach once more
[PROMETHEUS]
Hold your breath
Pray for death
Imagine the looks on their faces
Veritable monsters, we
Cynics and imposters delighted and dismayed
Look at the world we made
And sail
Into the breach once more
Cuts me to the marrow, see?
Prometheus and Eros
Be still my broken heart
We took this way too far
Oh well, unto the breach once
Set sail, unto the breach once more
Fantasy Marketing: Stephanie Hopson
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