Animal [LP], Blue Lake, Vinyl

Blue Lake reveals his most ambitious album yet, which finds it's visionary creator Jason Dungan harnessing the collective alchemy of his band, with ten spirited tracks that resonate with a powerful directness, evoking an ecological connection to the wider world. On The Animal, Dungan introduces the use of voice as an instrument, as a way of unlocking song-like characteristics. On the gracious album opener "Circles", which sees the group embrace in choral unison, like in birdsong, voices echo as a part of the surrounding sonic environment. The band are fore grounded and formidable in their delivery, forming a rich, acoustic accompaniment to Dungan's zither strokes, earthy guitars and percussive patterns. The soundworld is noticeably bolder and livelier, as evidenced on "Cut Paper", with now regular mixing collaborator Jeff Zeigler capturing the fullness of the new band sound. Dungan also enlisted the help of Danish producer Aske Zidore who encouraged him toward new working strategies, a liberating intervention which allowed the element of surprise and discovery. The center ground is never fully consumed by Dungan as we find him consciously orchestrating from a respectful distance, giving generous space for the musician's spontaneous performance and improvisation, allowing their musical intuition to give rise to beguiling, holistic synchronicity. "The Animal" is a form of musical metamorphosis, still acoustic, yet more amplified, elevating it to new dimensions. The Blue Lake project takes on a new lease of life to encompass collaboration with Jason Dungan bound in a universal connectivity, resulting in his most ambitious album to date. A harmonious rejoicing that cements his reputation as a transformative presence in contemporary music.