Ellington

Great Lake Swimmers – "Bodies and Minds" (Misra, 2005) This album is less the kind of music you can sit down and listen to and more the kind of music for which you assume the fetal position to let it wash over you or, conversely, to let it help you mourn your breakup/loss of a loved one/etc. This is not a bad thing, per se: the 11 tracks are all sweet and melodious, and-—for the most part—pleasant to listen to. No one will be offended if you're all hanging out, and you put this on the stereo. On the other hand, no one will be particularly impressed, either, aside perhaps from a little initial indie-rock cred in your favor.

At its best, this album plays with the relaxing smoothness of Iron & Wine, but it lacks the smoky vocals, complex lyrics and variation of sounds that take Iron & Wine from pleasant to amazing. Great Lake Swimmers instead take one good thing and go too far with it. One track impresses, but all 11 can easily bore. By track 3, "When It Flows," you will find yourself wishing that these obviously talented artists had taken a few more chances and been more creative with their potential.

In the end, this is a take-it-or-leave-it album, a grey T-shirt in your musical closet: surely you will have use for it at some point, but you could definitely find something more exciting to suit the same purpose.

— Margaret Cahoon