Video: Rogue Wave: "Lake Michigan"
If Rogue Wave sound on "Lake Michigan" like a band that went from the same label as the Shins to a label run by Jack Johnson, it's because they did. This song, from the Oakland, Calif., group's forthcoming Asleep at Heaven's Gate, has the ringing guitars, svelte melodies, and vaguely inscrutable lyrics of their aforementioned ex-Sub Pop labelmates. But it also has a big, memorable hook. And, like acoustic rock's surfer-stoner king, Rogue Wave aren't afraid to repeat it until you're hearing it in your sleep. "Get off of my stack," they sing, again and again. Fair enough.
The "Lake Michigan" video, posted over at Spinner, doesn't evince much more personality. It's a straight-ahead performance clip, with the twist that the band are playing in the middle of nowhere somewhere outside Los Angeles, and in the end water starts spraying all over them. They're obviously not anywhere near Lake Michigan, but hey-- get off of their style. Oh man, now they've got me doing it.
[from Asleep at Heaven's Gate; due 09/18/07 on Brushfire]