Founded in 2004, Lake Street Dive is an indie jazz and soul band. Band members include Rachael Price, Mike “McDuck” Olson, Bridget Kearney, and Mike Calabrese.
The band first met and formed at Boston’s New England Conservatory. At first, they wanted to be a jazz country band. However, their natural pop instincts unexpectedly kicked in, and they produced bright jazzy pop and rock music, with clear influence from the Beatles and British Invasion bands.
The band’s newest album, Bad Self Portraits is an eclectic mix of songs, with clear influence from several different genres. Track 1 on the album is called “Bad Self Portraits.” This song has a blues feel to it. It tells the story of a woman’s struggle with herself. She is lonely, and only sees bad self portraits when she looks at herself.
Track 2, “Stop Your Crying,” picks up the beat. Rachael Price is singing this song to another person. She is telling them to stop wallowing in their sadness. She wants them to stop crying, and to take control of their life. She demands that the listener stops crying, and starts acting. Start acting in such a way that you won’t want to cry anymore.
Track 9 is a particularly enjoyable song. Called “Seventeen,” the track is about the feeling of being seventeen. What do you remember about being seventeen? Rachael Price sings about being carefree, and enjoying every moment as it comes. The songs truly encourages listeners to live like they’re seventeen, and they’ll experience much more fulfillment.