YES.

The first black man to be elected the Democratic Presidential Nominee. YES.

Generally speaking a band comprised of dudes, some of which sport beards, is a good sign. As in the case of North Michigan’s Bear Lake, it totally works. From their look I was expecting a kind of Broken Social Scene shoegaze rock, but Bear lake take it in a much more peppy, upbeat direction, more akin to the Shins or Heatmiser-era Elliott Smith on the happy meds. The group’s beenfriends since kindergarten, and listening to their entwining noises, the chemistry is palpable. The band’s multiple singers and (presumably) multiple songwriters makes for pleasantly divergent, yet complimentary indie-pop-rock. Mixing electronic drums with standard kit and layering multiple electric and acoustic guitars and keyboards with well-placed backup vocals and effects results in a real wall of sound that tickles the ears just right.

Instrumentation:
Keith May (Bass/Vox; 26), Steve Stetson (Drums; 25), Matt Hines (Lead Vox; 26), Jon Rice (Rhythm Guitar/Vox; 26), Brian Kwasnik (Piano/Vox; 26)

Discography
“Catch the Sun” Copyright Bear Lake Music 2007

From the sounds on their MySpace Page, you should definitely investigate Bear Lake and consider picking up a copy of Catch The Sun. And for the record, me selecting Bear Lake as our Band of the Day has almost nothing to do with similar nomenclature to a certain band dear to our heart.

This is a bit atypical of the bands that we generally choose for Synthesis Band of the Day. No horn-rimmed glasses, waifish broads with ugly indie-rock haircuts, ‘roid-bicep hardcore meatheads, striped sweater wussies or epic Dungeons & Dragons progressive metalheads. No, Phredley brings the funk-rock.

In my fledgling college days, back when tie-dye wasn’t as vomitous and my roommate’s constant Phish-Grateful Dead-Phish musical rotation didn’t drive me completely bonkers, I would have broken my left leg to check out a band like Phredley. Now bad photoshop effects kinda irk me, patchouli oil makes me want to hurl and hippie funk in general just pisses me off. But not Phredley. They’s alright.

Based around a brother-sister duo (Phred Brown on Vocals, Guitar & Horns; Alesha Brown on Keys & Vocals) and a rhythm section (Paul Loos, Drums & Vocals; Samuel Tobias Winn, Bass & Vocals) Phredley lays down funk that is far closer to the heart of nearby Detroit than that of longhair revivalists in Colorado or Vermont. And when they stray toward the pop side of the spectrum, it comes across more as radio-friendly than looking for a parking lot miracle. More importantly (for me at least), their lyrics hold water. With the aforementioned hippie-funk enthusiasts, it’s most often the lyrics that drive me to enraged hysterics; Phredley uses some clever (or nearly clever) turns of phrase. No, Phred’s not Leonard Cohen by any means, but in a sometimes poppy, sometimes rocky funk quartet, it works. Their track “The Truth About Capricorns” also has some pretty, Beatelesque, tonally complex passages. If you’re a big fan of Ben Harper/Jack Johnson/Maroon 5, or your ’70s R&B records don’t have much dust on them, do yourself a favor and look into Phredley.

Okay, the long-winded title of our daily new band blog (”Synthesis Band You’ve Never Heard of Band of the Day”) may, by definition, rarely allow for hip-hop artists to get up in this piece. But it’s not like that. At Synthesis you will find a wide array of musical styles fighting for their time in the jukebox. Someone stops an Afropop CD to put in some power metal, only to later be replaced with some fey-assed twee pop, followed by outlaw country and a ska compilation. Then Video Matt or DT will put in some pop-punk that makes me want to punch myself in the balls over and over….just how it goes. So we mess with a bit of everything, and today that bit of everything is Michigan artist Yoshi.

Yoshi’s got chops, not only as a vocalist/MC, but as a producer and musician as well. Moreover, his shit is smoove, effortless flow with tracks that are real nodders. If you’re looking for a genre, Yoshi would have to be “conscious hip-hop,” a moniker I kinda hate. The sound’s where it’s at, though. His lyrics definitely benefit from his experience as a slam poet, crafting unique phrases that twist and turn into inventive cadences. He’s got a new album dropping soon, so be sure to check his space, drop him a line and get in the know.

MI and WI hip-hop heads, check out his show dates after the jump:
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