“Born Out of Winter, Dreaming Summer” North Lakes on ‘Black Cat Music Volume 1’
Photo credit: Andrew Cairns
“Winters in Atlantic Canada can be pretty miserable. It gets pretty easy to choose to stay at home and essentially hibernate for a lot of the year, so the songs tend to be from the perspective of someone who is reluctant to engage with people, places, and environments of that season,” said Nathan from North Lakes, “but the point is that you can find a lot of beauty if you get outside of your shelter.”
Born out of the frigid winter, North Lakes bring back the vibrant summer, brewing the wonderful mix of power pop, proto-punk, and garage rock. Featuring four high-energy, unique yet timeless tracks, Black Cat Music Volume 1 marks the beginning of a creative journey. A pinch of nostalgia recalling the classic modern rock sound mixed in with North Lakes’s intuitive visual sensitivity, Black Cat Music Volume 1 puts you in the scene while entrancing your ears. “Good for driving, good for dancing, good for daring to reach a little farther. We’re genuinely proud of these songs,” Nathan reassured us.
The journey of waking up and getting out of one’s own cave starts with “After The Drifts,” filled with mixed feelings and overthinking that gives the song a dangerous edge while contrasting the sonics. “Noise on the Anvil” lifts up the curtain and sees the ocean from the window, where the chill, surfacing soundscapes slowly melt the edge. “I like the invitation to ‘Meet me down at the concert hall with the night owls under the mirror ball, I wanna dance in a tape delay.’ That sounds like a pretty good night to me,” Nathan commented. “Jasmine the Flower” takes a dreamful retro down memory lane, while “Feel Nothing” steps boldly outside the door.
The creative process behind the band comes collaborative and interactive. “Typically, I write and record a bunch of demos. As a band, we choose our favorites and hammer out an arrangement or part ideas that would build upon what we already have. We mostly just stab in the dark until the light tears through,” said Nathan.
Interview & written by Katrina Yang
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