In a nod to the band’s impressive history since its initial formation way back in 2004, multi-genre trendsetters Lake Street Dive have announced a new EP, Fun Machine: The Sequel. As the name would imply, this is a direct sequel to the first Fun Machine EP from 2012, a collection of jazz and soul-inflected covers that first helped the band reach an entirely new level of exposure. In particular, the original Fun Machine contained the cover of The Jackson Five’s “I Want You Back” that propelled the band to viral status on YouTube, putting them on the path to become the big-venue act they are today. Likewise, the EP contained many songs that have remained LSD concert fixtures ever since, such as George Michael’s “Faith” or Hall & Oates’ “Rich Girl.”
Fun Machine: The Sequel, meanwhile, will collect another six covers to be given the Lake Street Dive treatment, while likewise paying homage to the band’s roots as a bar and pub act in Boston in the mid-2000s. As the band’s statement puts it:
“Imagine you walk into your favorite local dive bar and Lake Street Dive is on stage, doing our regular weekly gig for $5 a head. These are the songs we’d be covering there and how we’d be playing them. Some deep cuts, some sentimental favorites and some (hopefully) epic crowd pleasers.”
Songs covered on the new EP include the bounciness of The Pointer Sisters “Automatic,” Bonnie Raitt’s “Nick of Time,” which you can hear below, The Cranberries’ “Linger” and even some classic ‘90s country in the form of Shania Twain’s “You’re Still the One.” The band also gets a little tender—presumably—on Carole King’s “So Far Away” and Dionne Warwick’s “Anyone Who Had A Heart.”
Lake Street Dive is still going strong while beginning to eye its 20th anniversary at this point, even after the departure of founding member Mike “McDuck” Olson in 2021. You can get a first taste of Fun Machine: The Sequel, meanwhile, by checking out the cover of “Nick of Time” below. The album is due to arrive on Sept. 9, 2022 via Fantasy Records.
