Tony Dekker’s music spans nearly two decades as the lead singer and songwriter of Great Lake Swimmers. Over eight albums, multiple EPs, live broadcasts and reissues, the Toronto-based group has established itself as a beloved indie folk act in their native Canada and beyond. Great Lake Swimmers has been shortlisted for the Polaris Prize and nominated twice for the Juno Awards.
The songs that open “Uncertain Country”, the title track and “When The Storm Has Passed”, were recorded at the Oddfellows Temple Hall in St. Catharines, Ontario in September 2020. These jubilant sessions, following five months of unease, were a much-needed release for Dekker and his band. Both songs capture the album’s themes of the elasticity of time and processing change.
These are Demos that ended up as finished tracks. New beginnings, rear-view reflections, and ruminations on the fluidity of time: Great Lake Swimmers’ Uncertain Country captures these feelings — and so much more.
This celebration, 11-songs long, follows a prolonged period of collective anxiety. Though recorded in different locales — and with a variety of musicians — a theme of questioning runs throughout. Even before the world turned upside down, singer-songwriter Tony Dekker felt mired in uncertainty: From the climate crisis and the ever-changing political landscape to deep shifts within the music industry. The “uncertain country” Dekker chose as the album’s theme is not a specific place. Rather, it’s a territory we, as humans, inhabit in the 21st century — a world that, more often than not, is confusing, unfamiliar and unsettling.
released April 28th, 2023
All words and music by Tony Dekker.
The Fat Angel Sings 