Fun Machine: The Sequel is Lake Street Dive’s second set of distinctive cover songs. While 2012’s Fun Machine paid homage to classic R&B, soul, and jazz roots, this album features selections ranging from R&B and pop to singer-songwriters.
On May 17th, 2012, Lake Street Dive stood on a street corner in Boston, Massachusetts and performed a wonderfully syncopated, imaginative cover of the Jackson 5 classic “I Want You Back.” 10 years later, with tens of millions of streams, an acclaimed discography, and an enduring worldwide fanbase to their credit, it’s safe to say things have changed considerably.
In all, the powerhouse, multi-genre ensemble: vocalist Rachael Price; bassist/background vocalist, Bridget Kearney; drummer/background vocalist, Mike Calabrese and keyboardist/vocalist, Akie Bermiss; have issued seven celebrated studio LPs, one epic live album, two EP’s and a slew of much-loved singles.
Fun Machine: The Sequel, six-track EP of exquisitely chosen and performed cover songs was produced by Robin MacMillan and recorded at Figure 8 Recording in Brooklyn and Lucy’s Meat Market in Los Angeles (with contributions from touring guitarist/background vocalist, James Cornelison). It is the band’s second set of distinctive cover songs. While 2012’s Fun Machine paid homage to their classic R&B, soul, and jazz roots with re-imagined songs by the Drifters, George Michael, the aforementioned Jackson 5, and a killer version of Hall & Oates’ “Rich Girl,” Fun Machine: The Sequel expands the aperture a little wider, featuring selections ranging from R&B and pop favorites like Dionne Warwick’s “Anyone Who Had A Heart,” and the Pointer Sisters’ funky “Automatic,” to works by introspective singer-songwriters such as the Cranberries’ gorgeous “Linger,” Carole King’s classic “So Far Away,” Bonnie Raitt’s era-defining “Nick Of Time,” and even Shania Twain’s suddenly resurgent pop-country anthem, “You’re Still The One.”
Their approach reveals what makes the group so unique and their curations so special. Lake Street Dive don’t just inhabit these interpretations; they knock the walls down, re-finish the floors, and on some of them add a new room or two – it’s a way to both acknowledge their inspirations while also advancing their own musical foundation, inspiring a new generation of fans along the way. And as always, it’s their signature combination of immaculate musicianship, exceptional, inventive chops, and free-wheeling, playful sense of fun and originality leading the way.