(photo: Ilia Horsburgh)

The other day on CBC Radio 2’s Drive, Rich Terfry posited that the sound of Tony Dekker’s voice can melt women’s hearts, and coupled with the languid musical accompaniment of his band, Great Lake Swimmers, has the power to win over both the hearts and minds of the female persuasion.  Maybe that’s where Dekker got the idea to name his band’s second disc, Bodies and Minds, which leads me to wonder what the inspiration was to name his current disc Lost Channels.

For the record, I agree with Tefry:  Tony Dekker has one of–if not the–sexiest male voices in Canadian music today.  He exudes more passion and longing in one syllable than some artists do in a whole song.  I would even go so far as to say that his voice is that elusive defining quality that makes a song a Great Lake Swimmers song.  Sure, Dekker writes all of them, so how can they not be Great Lake Swimmers songs?  If you listened to the band’s discography (or if time is of the essence, a sampling from each of the four albums) chronologically, you’d note that as collaborations and studio musicians joined Dekker in what was once a solitary pursuit (i.e. recording music in grain silos), Great Lake Swimmers (the band) have lost some of that mystical, magical quality that we’ll call Great lake Swimmers (the concept).

Lost Channels is a fine collection of songs; it’s one of Dekker’s most well-rounded collections, and plays fluidly from beginning to end.  The problem is that once it’s over, it’s over.  Just like the world’s greatest swimmers, Lost Channels’ sleek and streamlined body glides through the sonic sea with grace, precision and style, but once it passes, leaves little wake.  The waters settle once more, and it’s as if no one had ever disturbed it.   By the time last track “Unison Falling Into Harmony” has played itself out, I find myself wanting to hit the repeat button mostly because I didn’t feel satisfied with a single listen.  Not because it was to much to take in at once, but more because it’s gentle–dare I say “safe”?–tones just didn’t stay with me long enough to fully process.  The music is fantastic and the songs are great, but as an album, Lost Channels loses part of its impact.  It’s a classic example of the parts being greater than the whole.  I don’t believe that Lost Channels has what it takes to be a Polaris Prize winning record, but I won’t dispute its inclusion on the short list based on the strength of some of it’s individual tracks:  “Pulling On A Line”, “Concrete Heart” and “Stealing Tomorrow” are some of Dekker’s finest work.  Lost Channels, though falls short of being his defining album.

MP3: Great Lake Swimmers “Concrete Heart”
Mysapce: Great Lake Swimmers
Twitter: Great Lake Swimmers