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To some, the Great Lakes are inland oceans. To others, the large pools of relatively warm water are nothing more than the accelerator of winter weather catalyzed by the arctic air that flows down over them. But for the five men of Great Lakes Myth Society, the five bodies of water that form the chain of freshwater basins are more than that -- they're living souls worthy of celebration and fear. Spurred on by the spirit of their hometown of Ann Arbor, Michigan, at the foot of Lake Erie, Great Lakes Myth Society's self-titled debut encompasses every aspect of the Great Lakes region, specifically the dark tales of its people and natural surroundings.

"We've always had a keen sense of geography, and the music that turns me on the most calls to mind a certain place or era," explains Timothy Monger (vocals, guitars), "To reference our home in song has always been a natural reaction. It was only when we noticed how strong the themes were that the desire to center our project within the Lakes took hold."

While the band's allegiance to the lakes is ever-present, a good melody is always paramount and it's the combination of the two that fuel Great Lakes Myth Society's alternately pastoral and brutal songs. Take the plaintive "Buffalo Nickel" for example. "Tim and I used to live downtown on Ann Street in a rented house from the 1850's," recalls James Christopher Monger (vocals, guitars). "In June, storm clouds would come in from the west and hold steady over us like a wraith in a Ray Bradbury novel. I like the idea of severe weather as an apocalyptic hiccup... a window into the past that, for just a brief moment, would re-animate our pre-World War I neighborhood of old. The chimes, thunder and sirens that appear on the song were recorded on a fourtrack from my bedroom window during one of these occurrences." Like the coming storm, vocals roll in ever more aggressively until a thunderclap of intertwined vocals and piano sweep the listener into the past.

In "Big Jim Hawkins" a violent Irish conflagration of drums, violin, and acoustic guitar tells the mythical tall tale of a bar fight between giants finally culminating in the lyric, "Trains derailed and loggers broke their backs/Rivers turned to oceans and the Northern Lights went black/Towns just vanished, sunk by spit and sweat/The north lay raped by five Great Lakes called H. O. M. E. S." In "The Northern Lights Over Atlanta, MI" the telling couplet, "When the cold stars work overtime to impress you/and the Northern Lights get into your marrow and pull your jawbone slack," sets the stage for a march powered by churning guitars, horns, and the harmonies of the brothers Monger and Gregory Dean McIntosh (vocals, guitars).

Rounded out by the rhythm section of J. Scott McClintock (bass, vocals) and Fido Kennington (drums, vocals), Great Lakes Myth Society held their inaugural meeting on January 1, 2004, two months after the dissolution of their previous incarnation, The Original Brothers and Sisters of Love (TOBASOL). The band has gone to great lengths to capture the spirit of discovery both on and off the stage. Like five applehead men soaking in their respective freshwater tombs, feeling the pulp return to their faces, each day brings the delicious pain of life and the endless need to create.