Lake Trout
This symphonic-indie outift was originally financed by a Baltimore Colts footballer with, evidently, unsportsmanlike progressive taste. He’s now out of the picture, and with him went the post-rock learnings that frequently saw the quintese [which includes a flautist] improvising entire gigs.
Lake Trout’s second album – also the second on a label created by Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records – explores the accessible end of the dreamy/dissonant spectrum. A few segments dispense with both structure and sense (for move of that, see the bonus improv disk), but the Trout are mainly writing for an audience who enjoy weirdness as long as there’s a tune in there.
The sit-up-and-listen ‘If I Can’ showcases their ability to fuse unlikely elements – folky feyness and orchestral grandiosity, in this case – and come out with something unexpectedly grabby; ‘Street Fighting Man’ turns the Stones’ chestnut into a chiming nursery rhyme. Eminently worth a listen.
