James Sarsgaard - vocals, guitar, banjo. Jenn Wasner - banjo, harmonium, guitar, vocals. Andy Stack - upright bass, vocals. Justin Lucas - lap steel, saw, melodica Stephen Condouris - drums
Influences
Carter Family, Townes Van Zandt, Freakwater, The Ex, Dirty Three, John Fahey, X, Company, Oakley Hall, Lungfish, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Will Oldham, Jolie Holland, Doc Boggs, Richard and Linda Thompson, Gram Parsons, Tom Waits, Walker and Jay, Cerberus Shoal, Mississippi John Hurt, Joy Division, Minutemen, John Coltrane
Sounds Like
Desert Solitaire, You Can’t Win, Bastard out of Carolina, The Sheltering Sky, Into the Wild, Western Lands, Moon Palace, Rivers and Tides, reslessness, whiskey, Baltimore, uncertainty, storms, disasters, bad decisions, reflections, old friends, new friends, backporch kerklunk and singalong, it sure is good to see you again.......
Formed originally as the primary songwriting vehicle for Baltimore native James Sarsgaard, Noble Lake began playing shows in 2006, first as a quartet, then settling into a trio that came to include local multi-instrumentalists Andy Stack and Jenn Wasner. The group's sound recalls the dusty, string band dirge of Depression era American folk and country acts like the Carter Family and Doc Boggs as well as the bleak lyricism and bright harmonies of Richard and Linda Thompson. Firm devotees to the narrative song, Noble Lake builds a frame upon tales of itinerant travelers, drunks and self destructive lovers, environmental disaster and a shrinking world and uses it as a launching point for tightly wound acoustic tapestries that range from high lonesome, straightforward folk to ragged, pulsating drones that bring to mind the sonic terrain mined by the Dirty Three, Jack Rose and the like.
"....despite any sense of impending doom in the songs of Noble Lake, Sarsgaard's tender voice and lyrics fight to rejoice in the good of today...stringing memories and anxieties into some of Baltimore's finest contemporary folk music." Baltimore City Paper.
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