Lake Street Dive – Side Pony

This fun release from 2016 is pretty new to me – picked it up at the beginning of 2022, when we all needed something new and fun in our lives, and this album really delivered. It kinda took their already retro stylings and stepped them up a notch or two. The thing is, no matter what Lake Street Dive are doing, it never sounds forced – they always have an easy way of assimilating a style and making it their own. Partly that’s the incredibly assured vocals of Rachael Price, who has a remarkable gift of vocal ease. Partly it’s great songwriting, especially from bass-and-everything-else player Bridget Kearney, whose rhythmic sensibilities shine through in everything they do. Not that Mike Olson’s contributions aren’t great, too. With Lake Street Dive, I tend not to call out individual tracks, because the whole thing is more of a vibe.