Foam Lake
Force & Matter
Quick, how many band names actually describe the music produced? The Clash? The Mothers of Invention? Pavement? You probably have a few additions of your own. Foam Lake, however, sound a lot like a foam lake. If such a thing existed it would be a deposit of thick, possibly synthetic material formed in a natural basin; likewise the band's style is made from heavy, inorganic genres like dance and post-punk (both showcased in the soldier's anthem "Die Fighting") while fitting the gentle formation of folk music in their rich harmonies and taste for fluid melody, beautiful tune "Baggage" best fitting that description. In truth Foam Lake is a small Saskatchewan town where settler Joshua Milligan saw foam bubbles lapping against the shores in 1882. The four Ross brothers who make up this group have family ties to the area, but their debut Force and Matter sounds like it could have come from just about anywhere. It integrates a handful of rock subgenres while committing firmly to none. Force and Matter swings from absolute thunder to quiet whisper at the drop of a hat, while smartly abandoning frivolous embellishment and instead delivering only exactly enough of what is needed. Musical kinships like this don't come around often anymore - listen up.