Lake Trout - Not Them, You

With the moniker Lake Trout, a lead singer named Woody and a band member who plays the flute; I expected this Baltimore quintet’s music to approximate the performance of any number of earthy jam bands with silly names (String Cheese Incident, Leftover Salmon, etc.). I was pleasantly surprised to find Not Them, You to be one of the more well-produced and sonically mature rock albums I have heard in some time. Frontman Woody Ranere’s commanding vocal presence guides his band on a journey through areas of psychedelic Brit-pop, sparse folk rock and electronica reminiscent of Radiohead circa The Bends. At a time when many records sound like they were mixed and produced on an assembly line, Lake Trout does a wonderful job of letting their music swell and breathe. Flawlessly layered guitars crescendo and decrescendo to fit the emotional landscape, accented by quietly probing bass lines and just the right amount of synthesizer. One place in particular where the dynamic contrast works to full effect is on “If I Can,” where the tight vocal harmonies give off a sublime, Queen-like vibe. Each band member seems to know their role and work in tandem to create a consistent vision for the album’s direction. As a result, standout rock cuts like “Riddle” and “Now We Know” blend seamlessly with the four ethereal instrumentals contained on the record. This type of unified variety speaks highly of the band’s musicianship. At sixteen tracks, this album might be difficult to digest in one sitting. However, with the exception of a less than stellar cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Street Fighting Man” and a bit of lyrical pretentiousness that clouds the track “Systematic Self,” there is nothing but quality songs here. Lake Trout may still be a band with a silly name, but there is nothing funny about the excellence of this record or about how poised and ready this band is to make a definite mark on the music scene. [www.laketrout.com]