Lake Holiday

Side B boasts two tracks from Toronto's Lake Holiday. I obviously have a soft spot for them since they're from my hometown, but take my word for it, they've got a really nice sound. "All My Enemies," their first piece, is a calm, quiet pop number with a nice melody. But everything works best on "If This is a War", which blows the first track totally out of the water with a gust of reverbed vocals and energetic, fun guitars. The chorus is irresistibly catchy and carefree, with a certain britpop influence and a definite penchant for sixties-styled guitar.

Altogether, this is a very enjoyable release from a couple of really interesting bands. Both boast a sound influenced by the past - The Poison Control Center go for straight up revivalism, whereas Lake Holiday take a more modern approach. Both do what they do well, though, and that's what makes this such a successful record.
- indieville.com

...On the other side, we've got Lake Holiday, which is the new project of Brad Davis of Oval-Teen! I'm quite excited to hear new material from him (when's that double cd finally going to surface, eh?), and this does not disappoint. And as if the red vinyl 7" wasn't enough, there's also great artwork inside and out, drawn by the awesome Missy Kulik! - indiepages.com

This is the second brief release from Brad Oval-Teen's new band (the first being the split 7" with Poison Control Center). The title track is an excellent Teenage Fanclub/Byrds-ish number with an excellent chorus and melody. It's followed by the equally wonderful and jangly "Shrewsbury Girl", and then the slow and haunting instrumental, "Wonder What That Light Is?". "Daylight Faders" ends the ep on an acoustic note. Let's hope that this 3" cdep is a taster of what's to come, and I hope that whatever it is, comes very soon! - indiepages.com

lake holiday resides in toronto and play for you two simple pop songs with smart lyrics, and nice melodies.
these are the kind of songs that should be on the radio. granted i havnt listened to the radio for over
a decade, but i know in my heart that what is playing on 95 percent of the radio right now, anywhere, is
shit. it doesnt have what humans need. this might! - Iamcancer.com

Oval-Teen, Yorkville, IL (Bi-Fi)
In its five-year existence, Oval-Teen released a disproportionate amount of music. Constantly crafting three-minute indie-pop magic, the band never got a toehold on the airwaves and disbanded in 1999. Two years later, Oval-Teen's final album was released on MOC Records, to less than stellar reviews. Bi-Fi Records has released 500 copies of Yorkville, IL, a similarly long-delayed and -anticipated retrospective, named for the fertile soils of the band's hometown outside Chicago. The 55-song double album showcases Oval-Teen's sweet, straightforward pop songs, born of an admitted lack of angst in their exurban adolescences. This general conviviality is manifest throughout Oval-Teen's catalog. Songs like the sugary, Beach Boys-inspired "Run Away With Me" and the upright rocker "Smyle" show that Oval-Teen spanned the center of the pop spectrum. Released far too late to rekindle popular interest in the band, Yorkville is nonetheless a must-have for fans of the band and of lo-fi pop in general.
— Matthew Wheeland
- Popmatters

Oval-Teen's Brad Davis could have given Bob Pollard a run for his money in the most-prolific songwriting category. From their collection of over 300 written and recorded tunes comes Yorkville, IL, a posthumous two-disc set featuring 55 tracks of cassette recordings, demos, and unreleased material. Like the Shins, Oval-Teen plays near-perfect Beach Boys-inspired indie pop. At times, they venture into more aggressive, punk-based territory, yet they never lose their melodic sensibilities. Listening to Yorkville, IL makes you wonder how these guys didn't become a much bigger band in the underground music world. (CL) - Impact Press

Oval-Teen call themselves the ultimate mix-tape band because they specialise in short poppy songs that fit perfectly in those last couple of minutes at the end of each side when you absolutely have to squeeze in one last cool song. With a combination of Beach Boys-esque harmonies and both quiet and fuzzy guitars, they have a real knack for memorable melodies and that is their strongest attribute. They might not be as well known as Tullycraft, but they do pretty much the same thing except better. Yorkville, IL (named after their hometown) is probably the best way to catch up with this incredibly prolific band. It brings together songs from their early releases, compilations and deleted singles, with a few demos and unreleased songs thrown in for good measure. With a collection this large, volume can very often be its saving grace. With 55 songs, there simply has to be a few good ones, but curiously in the case of Yorkville, IL, there really are only a handful of weak songs and even those aren’t terrible by any means. Still, with more than two hours of music contained on two CDs, this isn’t the kind of album to enjoy in a single sitting. But there are plenty of fun pop songs here to stick on your next 50 mix-tapes. Keep in mind that only a mere 500 copies are being pressed, so don’t wait too long before picking up this gem. - Exclaim! Magazine

This cadre of Midwest mooks collect their lo-fi youthful folly for all and sundry, and what a bountiful batch of sweetness it is. Forty-plus tunes, no waiting, in varying melodic shades of tuneful teenypop, with serious nods to Teenage Fanclub and just about every great post-Chilton/C-86 aggregation, known or unknown, to (Chelsea) boot. All this and some of the funniest liner note descriptive commentary for each tune i've seen in a dog's age. Bradley Davis and company: great younga Murricans, all. MLH - Shredding Paper

It took about three years (at least from when I first heard about it) to finally be released, but here is the much-anticipated retrospective of Oval-Teen's extremely prolific career! The 55 songs on here span the band's entire career, from the first self-released cassette in 1994 to the final album in 2001 (though the band had actually broke up a couple years earlier), and even includes a couple dozen unreleased songs, as well as demo versions of others! The songs are in no particular order, with the early, more indie-rock influenced songs ("Smyle" sounds just like Smudge!) mixed in with the later, more Beach Boys/Marbles-ish pop songs (not to mention the occasional stabs at other styles like electropop ("Fingerpainting") or spaghetti western ("Bridge Street Lullaby")). In fact, not only are they mixed in, but sometimes they even seem to fit perfectly together, even though they were recorded at different times, thanks to good sequencing and clever segues. The sound is mostly lo-fi (you can even hear the tape giving out here and there), but the playing and songwriting itself is usually good enough that it doesn't matter how bad the sound quality is. Clocking in at almost 2¼ hours, this may seem a little overwhelming, but with only a few duds, this collection is like an instant jukebox! - Indiepages

Theoretically, Lake Holiday ceased to exist last year. The band’s first incarnation decided to call it a day, but Bradley Davis kept performing under the name until the second version of the band fell into place. These days, Davis is joined by Aaron Booth, Kate Warren, Tim Oakley and Jordan Armstrong, adding some stability to the band, and also welcomes guests including Gentleman Reg Vermue and former band member Frank Yang (from music blog Chromewaves). But this is now very much Davis’s show and anyone who remembers Oval-Teen (his former band) fondly will not be disappointed with The Curse of Sunshine because it sounds like a natural progression. The biggest difference between Lake Holiday and his previous band is the fuller sound. It might still be indie pop, but this is indie pop that has been polished until you can see your face, and it sounds much better as a result. Even with just six songs, Lake Holiday manage to show a few different sides, from the plaintive “Don’t Stay Forever” to the buzzing guitars on “On My Mind.” They’ve even had the EP highlight “Press Record Then Play” appear on an episode of Veronica Mars (which is becoming the new The O.C. it would appear), which can only be a good thing. The Curse of Sunshine is a promising sign for their debut album, which is just around the corner. It looks like Davis has finally found the people that could make him a household name, or as close as a guy from Illinois, now living in Toronto can be.
Michael Edwards
July 06, 2006
- EXCLAIM! Magazine