WON'T LET YOU DOWN

Vinyl LP pressing. Lake Street Drive's Bridget Kearney steps into the spotlight with her first solo effort, a wry, big-hearted pop album entitled Won't Let You Down. The record, like its title, promises not to disappoint. The recording process for Won't Let You Down began when drummer/engineer/producer Robin MacMillan invited Kearney to record a few songs at his Brooklyn studio. The sessions, which took place over the course of three years, were leisurely and experimental, free of a label-imposed deadline or a rental fee. "One of the things I like about Robin as a producer is he seems to be able to disassociate an instrument with its stylistic history and just kind of hear it for the sound it's creating," says Kearney, who played electric bass, piano, synthesizers, organ, electric guitar and acoustic guitar on Won't Let You Down. The album abounds with peculiar noises: an unidentifiable yelp, something distinctly kazoo-like, the distant whistle of a steaming kettle. Shades of The Beatles, Wilco, Fleetwood Mac and even Nick Cave can be detected, as the album swerves from ae60s pop to ae80s soft rock to Gothic Americana. Won't Let You Down is also the first project in which Kearney has appeared as the primary vocalist. Her lyrical talent stems from her ability to unlock the profundity in details both small and strange. On Won't Let You Down, buoyancy is always tempered by melancholy. But just as often, wistfulness is undercut by a twinkle in the eye. It's "this cross section of sadness and humor," says Kearney. "When you're getting over crying, and you just start to laugh."'