The Lighthouse and the Whaler: This Is an Adventure

    It's always exciting to hear a band I suddenly like that I've never heard before (props to WITR 89.7, RIT's radio station--why did you not win best local radio station this year?), especially before they make their meteoric rise to fame. The Lighthouse and the Whaler may just experience that rise, riding on the peaks of the waves on the seas. A band from Cleveland, OH, The Lighthouse and the Whaler started with humble beginnings as a two man group made up of Michael LoPresti and Aaron Smith, who wrote a track called "The Field Song" and received sudden recognition by Paste Magazine, who utilized it on a sampler. Following that up with an EP that included four tracks, A Whisper, a Clamour (EP, 2008), and their debut, The Lighthouse and the Whaler (2009), they hit the road on tour. TV and radio also picked up a few of their songs and they were well on their way. Additionally, three new members joined somewhere along the way, brother Matthew LoPresti, Mark Poro and Steve Diaz. Together, they have released Pioneers (EP, March 2012) and this their sophomore release, This Is an Adventure (September 18, 2012). For some reason, Aaron Smith currently seems to be missing from the band's regular lineup, so I don't know when he left the band; however, Mark Poro claims that is not his real name, so maybe Aaron Smith became Mark Poro? Or maybe that is just gross speculation [and his real name is Mark Porostosky]. Regardless, Michael sings, Matthew is the percussionist, Mark is a multi-instrumentalist (i.e. violin, glockenspiel, mandolin, guitar, piano, et al.) and Steve does the majority of the composing from what I gather. Anyway, there are really interesting bios about all four on their website, here.
    Going back and listening to some of their older material, The Lighthouse and the Whaler was much more mellow and folk inspired, with great use of acoustic guitar, glockenspiel and harmonies of voices to create atmospheres that are chill yet intensely drawing, almost emo. There is also more complicated or creative use of several different instruments, which definitely help give that folk pop feeling. This Is an Adventure, on the other hand, received an electronic and rhythmic boost, with better editing, and a light touch of synth. The vocals are now also pared down to mostly one voice, which plainly is more in tune and is a great alternative to the constant harmonies. The album cover I think speaks volumes about how the songs feel and sound. It is like being carefree and free and off on an adventure on some island, or more plainly through life. Life is an adventure. Some of my favorite lyrics and songs for that matter include "I was set sailing/like a character in a book/i think this is what it's like to be free" from "Chromatic" and "i knew oh i knew you've got green eyes/i feel oh i feel the wind between the trees and open skies" from "This Is an Adventure". The albums has touches of Vampire Weekend, Two Door Cinema Club, the now defunct Scattered Trees (which has become On An On) and the Weathervanes era Freelance Whales, among others that may be harder to pinpoint.
    There's so many places to go. So many things to hear. Check out their Bandcamp, which houses full streams of The Lighthouse and the Whaler and Pioneers (EP), here. Their website has a nice 'Music' page, with discography, links to where you can purchase their CDs (well, it redirects to their store, but from there are more links) and live sets, here. You can also download the song "Venice" there. Another place to find a few download is their SoundCloud, here, which offers the sublime "Of the Heavens and the Earth". NPR's World Cafe did a little bit on This Is an Adventure and offers two live tracks for listening, here. I'd say, as a critic of live performances versus studio, they sound quite good! For full streams of This Is an Adventure, check out Paste Magazine's website, here; and Google play, here, which I believe allows you to listen full once before tragically clipping the tracks to minute samplings; plus their MySpace, here. I've linked the track 'This Is an Adventure" over under the 'Monthly Sample Tracks', just because it is soo pure and clean and drew me in initially, hopefully it will do the same for you. Enjoy!