The Breaking Lakes

A few Friday nights ago, The Breaking Lakes took the stage at the legendary Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto to debut some songs from their brand new EP, Something in the Water.

The four Toronto indie-rockers took about a year to write and record this new album, and from the first note, you can tell they are proud of their hard work. And for good reason: the new music is seriously good.

It was an EP release show, but I’d call it an EP release party. The crowd loved every minute of The Breaking Lakes’ (much-too-brief) set. At singer/guitarist Dave’s first “Hello, Toronto!” greeting, a crowd eagerly gathered in front of the stage. During the show multi-talented guitarist/keyboardist Jason shared a hug with a friend from the stage, and singer/guitarist Dave urged the crowd closer, “If you’re cool, come on up here.”

The second song into the set, the band had the venue fully into their EP’s title-track, ‘Something in the Water’. I could feel the earnestness of Dave’s voice, and Jason’s catchy guitar part will surely be stuck in heads for days to come.

Dave’s audience interaction made each attendee feel like a friend, and his skill on guitar and at the mic looked like second nature. Each member’s personality shone through during their live performance. Jason continually fed off the crowd’s energy, even filling the rockstar role by dropping to his knees to rip up a few solos. Behind the drum kit, Matt’s face said it all; smiling and singing along, he skillfully carried each song. What I especially love about his style is that you can tell he is a drummer that actually hits hard. Rocking the five-string, bass player Mike was a quiet presence, but his fingers did all the talking. With delicious tone, his bass drove through the set as he sat back like a dude confidently behind the steering wheel.

The Breaking Lakes take their music seriously – but not too seriously. During the new, danceable, funky track ‘Shatter and Break’, Dave asked the crowd, “Do you like Will Smith?” Then, taking the mic from the stand, he proceeded to bust into the theme from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air before seamlessly sliding back into the end of the song.

With a perfectly polished new set of tunes, a laid-back, welcoming stage presence, and a delightfully infectious sound, The Breaking Lakes are a feel-good live act that shouldn’t be missed.

Leading up to the release show the band did a four-part video series titled Behind Something in the Water, offering a look into the studio process. These videos can be seen on the band’s Facebook page.

Check out The Breaking Lakes’ new EP at thebreakinglakes.bandcamp.com. - RazMatazMagazine

The Breaking Lakes showcase their talent at the Drake Hotel this past Thursday night. Hosted by Loriann from 102.1 The Edge, Iguana Recording put together their best acts in one of the best venues this city has to offer.

Formed in 2009, The Orangeville quartet was the third of five bands to grace the stage at the Drake Underground. The crowd was young and hungry for some awesome tunes, and the Breaking Lakes were eager to deliver. With a new full length album just released this past year, Sleeping Giants, the band had a lot to work with, and to show off.

“The drummer seems to be Team Edward!” remarked Edge personality Loriann, directing the audience’s attention to drummer Matt Kalinauskas’s Twilight T-shirt. The diminutive Dj’s distinctive voice rang through the venue as she introduced the band. They opened their set with “Last Fight” a song that shows off the (hopefully ironic) Twi-hard`s talent with an extended drum intro. From the first chord the band’s energy just came off the stage in waves, picking up even more as singer, keyboardist and lead guitarist Jason Masina sang out the first echoing note. Lead singer and guitarist Dave Kalinauskas thanked the audience for coming out before launching into the angsty tune “Falling Apart. The band’s sound is rhythmically steady and solid, something you can tap your feet and bob your head along to, as evidenced by the crowd at the Drake, who kept perfectly in time to the rhythm set by Matt and bassist Ryan Bordihn. The band rounded out their short set with “Calling Calling Calling”, and having given a solid performance to a charmed audience, handed off the stage to the next band. They were definitely a hard act to follow.

The Breaking Lakes are a young band and as such are continuously honing and developing their style, and growing their fanbase. The musical trend of today is young bands and young fans, and The Breaking Lakes are well on their way to capitalizing on that movement. Check out their full length album Sleeping Giants here and make sure to check out their next show. - Nadia Elkharadly - Examiner.com Toronto

The Breaking Lakes : Sleeping Giants
Recorded at Blue Box Studios – Barrie 2010
I was thrilled to hear these guys, completely out of left field, at a recent triple-header in the Wellington Room at Rebekha Sushi. I thought – omigod, I’ve discovered something here. I must tell everyone. So here I am telling you these young men are smooth and spot-on with their playing. An epic rock sound. Big and full and powerful. Great poetry, effects…I can’t say enough. Excellent show, excellent CD. Someone else might be able to do it, but I can’t pin a label on them. Okay, best guess is Supertramp.
Favourite tracks: Sleeping Giants and Last Fight. I love intricate rhythms. Oh, and maybe Dented Fingers. I dunno – fabulous. - Lisa Watson, "In The Hills" Magazine

The members of local indie band The Breaking Lakes are taking their music a lot more seriously these days.

Formerly known as Silverlane, the four-member band just released its first full-length CD, Sleeping Giants, and is gearing up for a big show in Orangeville on Saturday, May 29 in the Wellington Room at Rebekha Sushi (35 Armstrong St.).

“We wanted to take a bigger step musically and push it more on the business side of things as well. We decided to reform the band,” David Kalinauskas, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist, said.

“The last band was more of a hobby and this band we’re more pushing towards a career, so we’re more professional about it and we’re more committed,” added Jason Masina, who plays lead guitar and keyboard. “And we changed the name because really we didn’t like it.”

The band underwent a bit of a transformation with the departure of lead guitarist Adam Kozak and bassist Mike Ashton.

“Last July, we had our last official show as Silverlane,” said drummer Matthew Kalinauskas.

However, composing tunes for the 10-track album had already been underway for several months at that point. They even passed up doing a couple of shows in order to write songs and practice.

“We started writing songs for the album about a year before we recorded the album (in December 2009),” Matthew explained. “The September before we recorded, Jay, David and I, we started kind of just putting all the songs together and coming up with the last couple of songs. While we rehearsed them, Mike Ashton offered to play bass for the album. So it’s his bass lines on the album.”

After an intense and exhausting recording session at The Blue Box Studios in Barrie this past December and January, the guys, who are all in their 20s, took some time off.

“We put a lot into the preparation, creation and finally the recording of the album,” David said. “We never really talked about it but we could all really feel it, it was very draining. It took a lot out of us.

“Finally when we finished the record, we didn’t really talk about the band for, I think, a good month.”

The extra effort that went into the album has paid dividends though, Matt said.

“I think David’s voice kind of sounds the same. I think it’s pretty unique as a lead singer, but as far as the songwriting goes, it’s like we grew and got more experienced as songwriters,” he said. “I think the songs are just better in general.”

“We pushed the sound a bit,” David added. “Our influences, I think, when we were writing the record, were very specific. It was more into a pop-rock side of things.”

The new band has also pushed the keyboards on the new album, said Masina.

“We have a synth sound in the band that we never had before,” he said.

Shortly after finishing recording the album, Ryan Bordihn, a Newmarket-based musician, joined the band on bass.

“They found me, actually, on my Sonicbids account and just sent an email saying they were looking for a bassist,” he explained. “I’ve been an artist myself, a songwriter playing with a band under my own name and … I decided that it could kind of be a venture I could take on. So I sent them back that it would be something I’d be up to.”

Bordihn says it’s been a good experience for him as someone who came in after the album was written and recorded.

“All the songs that we’re playing, I wasn’t part of the songwriting process so, as well as being part of the band and playing in it, I’m also kind of a spectator listening to what they were,” he said.

“It’s cool listening to the new stuff. As they said, they put more time into songwriting, and everything, and you can really hear it if you compare the two. It’s a much more developed sound. Before it was kind of a decent local band, now it seems to take that next step farther.”

The Breaking Lakes are now ramping up for next weekend’s show, which also features Adam Kozak, Devin and the Dark Light and The Bremen Town Players.

Attendees can expect a high-energy show that appeals to a broad ranging audience, he said.

“There’s definitely something for all ages,” David said. “It’s going to be loud, like rock ’n’ roll loud and energetic. … Everything’s upbeat.”

Tickets for the all-ages, licensed show, which cost $10, are available in advance at Aardvark Music & Culture (169 Broadway) and at the door. The first 20 people to purchase tickets will get a copy of Sleeping Giants. Copies of the new disc will be available at the show. Doors open at 8:30 p.m.

For more information check out www.myspace.com/thebreakinglakes or www.thebreakinglakes.com. - By Adam Martin-Robbins

The band The Breaking Lakes hail from Orangeville (Toronto), Ontario Canada and ‘Sleeping Giants’ is their self-released debut album. On it you’ll find a collection of 10 synth-infused, pop-rock songs. The entire album is available on a ‘pay what you want’ plan.

The songs that make up ‘Sleeping Giants’ are mostly up tempo and overflowing with guitar and keys parts, along with strong vocals and drumbeats that always let you know that they’re there.

Those drum beats really step it up and jump to the forefront on the track, “Last Fight”. The 7 minutes plus track is one of my favorite songs found on the album. The track starts out with a hard edged drum part that’s followed by a series of percussion noises, then the guitar and keys part jumps in and continue the jamming. Just when you think the track is going to be an instrumental the vocals come to life around the 2:30 mark of the song.

Other highlight tracks for me include the up-tempo tracks, “The Feeling”, and “Falling Apart”. The keys filled title track, “Sleeping Giants”, with lyrics that deal with not losing your passion for following your life dreams and living up to your full potential is another favorite of mine. On the more melodic side I liked the acoustic guitar ballad, “Plant a Seed”, that features a nice male/female lead vocals mix along with the releases last track, “Dented Fingers”.

The only flaw I found on this release was on the technical side with just a little bit too much of dead air time found between several of the songs. But that’s a really quick and easy technical fix for the next time around.

The Breaking Lakes offer up lots of good music on their debut ‘Sleeping Giants.’ You need to keep your eyes out for these guys as they make their move to overtake the Canadian music scene and points beyond! - C.W. Ross