Review: 'Compass Rose Bouquet' by Great Lakes Myth Society

One of the things folk music, in its broadest sense, has almost always done better than most other pop genres is to tell stories. It's the music of our shared history, full of allegory, legend, drama, calls to action and even a fact or two.

Great Lakes Myth Society clearly knows the value of a good yarn. The Michigan band's lyrics stem from the storytelling tradition of folk, neatly slotted into rootsy pop tunes with bold melodic hooks on the group's second album, "Compass Rose Bouquet" (Quack! Media).

The band's songs find the narrow middle ground between epic and intimate: Simple guitar parts are sent soaring by horns, vocal melodies rise and fall like deep breaths and bursts of percussion come clattering through with propulsive force.

Particular highlights include opening song "Heydays," a reminiscence that ably mixes bitter and sweet with lyrics like these: "Weekends and summers,/Bands that you loved/Were just haircuts and jackets./Back then that was enough," Timothy Monger sings. What an image.

The album is full of reminiscences, actually. Some are more effective than others, with distinctive scenes at the local watering hole ("Queen of the Barley Fool"), the warm glimmer of perfect summer evenings ("Nightfall at Electric Park") and pining over lost love ("March"). There's even a mournful ballad with accordion, a tavern-worthy sing-along chorus and historical allusions, "The Gales of 1838."

Folk storytelling has been in vogue in rock in recent years, sometimes with precious results (see also: Bright Eyes, Okkervil River, Sufjan Stevens). Great Lakes Myth Society avoids the traps of hipster folk-rock on "Compass Rose Boquet," which is smart without seeming pretentious and passionate without seeming affected.

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"Debutante".mp3