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Feb 10, 2015 Web Exclusive By Matt Conner

It’s unfortunate for Colin Huebert that he was ever labeled as former drummer for the Great Lake Swimmers. Maybe he doesn’t consider that to be the case, since Great Lake Swimmers releases one beautiful, pastoral album after another. But drumming for Great Lake Swimmers’ Tony Dekker isn’t exactly an impassioned gig, and Siskiyou, Huebert’s own outlet (along with friends like Great Lake Swimmers’ Erik Arnesen), deserves to be heard apart from any previous associations.

Three albums in, Huebert now has a versatile discography to call his own. Nervous comes three-plus years after 2011’s Keep Away the Dead and showcases the same organic leap in emotion and energy that characterized the difference from the first two. “Deserter” is the best foot forward as the album opener, a track with multiple movements that shifts from a horror film score with children’s choir to a mid-tempo stratified affair that Joseph Arthur can only dream of. That’s all before a delicious saxophone solo from Colin Stetson carries things to another level.

Lest Siskiyou fans fear Huebert and company have drifted too far, the band’s acoustic base remains firmly in place even as dreamy accoutrements swirl all around and layers are added and removed. “Wasted Genius” and “Oval Window” feel most at home in this middle ground between Huebert’s roots and reach. That said, the album’s title track, “Nervous,” remains firmly fixed in the hazy arcadia of Huebert’s past. Perhaps any associations aren’t so unfair after all. (www.siskiyouband.com)

Author rating: 7/10