Jayvee Music Reviews with Jeff Vallet

Lake Street Dive have been performing for nearly a decade after meeting as fellow students at the New England Conservatory in Boston.
The band was hand-picked by Minneapolis trumpet/guitar player Mike Olson and named after an actual neighborhood of seedy bars in his hometown.
Vocalist Rachael Price came from outside Nashville, stand-up bassist Bridget Kearney was an Iowa native, while drummer Mike Calabrese called Philadelphia home. You could say that this group of musicians has come a long way. I think that they are on the edge of being a giant force in music!
The new album, Bad Self Portraits, is diverse and loaded with songs of substance. You can hear the ’60’s influences like Brill Building girl groups on “Stop Your Crying.” There is a British Invasion-rock feel on “Bobby Tanqueray.” You get a taste of R&B on “You Go Down Smooth.” On “Use Me Up” you can close your eyes and envision Motown Soul. And you even get a band-like gospel vibe on “What About Me.” Like I said, You Get It All With This Group.
All four members of the band take part in the writing. Each song is like a Polaroid glimpse of a band that is constantly evolving.
“Nothing we do is set in stone,” says Olson about the band’s recording process in the studio – and if they are, first and foremost, a live outfit.
“Songs change when we start to play them for people. That determines the stylistic direction more than anything else. When we record a song, that’s just a snapshot of where it was at that moment. And it continues to grow as we perform it.”
I know great music. This one has quality from beginning to end!