Lake Bottom LP

The Chapin Sisters are a trio of gifted recordings artists who have managed to reinvent the love song by incorporating a touch of irony into their modern interpretation of folk- and roots-inspired pop. On their first full length album, Lake Bottom LP, the sisters have created songs that are defined by beautiful melodies and inventive take on the subject of love and all of its consequences, in the tradition of Patty Griffin, Lucinda Williams, and the Be Good Tanyas.

The trio is composed of singer-songwriters Abigail and Lily Chapin, as well as Jessica Craven, and the album has a deceptively simple musical style. The lead song, “Let Me Go,” lets the listener know just what kind of treat they are in for, and “Kill Me Now” and “Can’t We Please” are other particularly memorable tracks. It is refreshing to hear an album of recorded music sung by talented singers who are capable of performing both lead vocals and harmonizing without the intervention of heavy-handed production (and choreography and light shows). I found myself singing along at the first listening, and every subsequent time I turned on the album.

Talented musicians, these women create an interesting contrast by pairing sweet and sleepy acoustic guitar with occasionally blunt lyrics that echo your thoughts after that date, that really bad conversation, that phone call that didn’t happen, or that run-in at the neighborhood coffee shop... You know the one I’m talking about.

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