Being from Illinois, I know the beauty and wonderment of being a Great Lake swimmer. Is there anything more sublime than a dusk-time Lake Michigan wade in late July? Toronto's Great Lake Swimmers picked an apt name for their bittersweet alt-folk sounds of sparse nostalgia. The band creates gentle, melancholic soundscapes using acoustic and lap steel guitars, pianos, and Tony Dekker's sweetly harmonic vocals.

Their haunting music has been compared to Nick Drake, Mark Kozelek and Will Oldham. Commenting on everything from heartbreak to manic depression to spiritual transcendence, Great Lake Swimmers are cerebral and not the least bit superficial. Great Lake Swimmers play Red Eyed Fly, Saturday, March 18th.