Lake Street Dive delivered back-to-back releases this week with a new single, “Hypotheticals”, as well as a cover of Carole King‘s “So Far Away”. The single comes as the third from the band’s forthcoming album Obviously, due out on March 12th via Nonesuch Records.
“Hypotheticals” serves as the opening track for Obviously, and welcomes listeners into the album with Rachael Price‘s inviting vocals and light instrumental flourishes from the rest of the group. With the musical introductions out of the way, Lake Street Dive drops straight into the catchy, R&B beat of the song. The track follows similar themes found on previously-released Obviously tracks, like “Nobody’s Stopping You Now”, of self-acceptance and avoiding second-guessing once’s self.
Related: Lake Street Dive Shares “Nobody’s Stopping You Now” Acoustic Performance [Watch]
In that spirit of self-exploration, Lake Street Dive brought in producer Mike Elizondo on Obviously. Though Elizondo is known for his work with such powerhouses as Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, and Eminem, the band thought that his different field of experience could bring some fresh energy into the studio.
“We’ve been a band for so long that we didn’t want to just become a feedback loop of our own ideas,” bassist Bridget Kearney said in a press release. “It felt like a really good time to bring in another person like Mike [Elizondo], and he really opened us up. He encouraged us to make bolder arrangement choices, take those chances and try those things. The record really is a success in what we set out to do: continue to challenge ourselves, continue to grow and do things we’ve never done before.”
Watch Lake Street Dive’s studio performance video for “Hypotheticals” or click here to stream the song. Obviously is available for pre-order here.
Lake Street Dive – “Hypotheticals” [From Phantom Studios]
[Video: Lake Street Dive]
In a Variety exclusive, Lake Street Dive was recruited to pay tribute to Carole King, a major inspiration for the band. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of her seminal 1971 Tapestry album, the group recorded a cover of “So Far Away”.
A truncated lineup of Price, Kearney, and keyboardist Akie Bermiss delivered an acoustic rendition of the hit singer-songwriter tune that gave reverence to the original and showed the album’s far-reaching impact 50 years later.
“I’ve been playing this song, like, every day in quarantine for eight months,” Price told Variety. “It’s one of my favorite songs of all time. It really soothes me. I’m in love with every song on ‘Tapestry,’ but as a singer, I think there’s just something perfect about ‘So Far Away’ that makes it feels so good to sing. As a touring musician, there are a lot of relatable lyrics, and not a lot of people can write about touring in a way that doesn’t feel a little bit contrived. There’s nothing trite about this song — it captures the feeling of touring and feeling really lonely so well.”
Head over to Variety to watch the full video of Lake Street Dive’s cover of “So Far Away” by Carole King.