Whispering Lake is an Americana band fronted by M.J. Schneider (left), a nonbinary, pansexual third-generation musician, artist, and writer. The queer goth pagan folk of Whispering Lake is inspired by intuitive spiritual and artistic practices: divination via everyday omens, tarot, stichomancy, scrying, and dream states. These songs meld ancient traditions with new ways, the name coming from a place of hazy summer days in Missouri.
The band’s jangly pop sensibility with catchy hooks draws influence from twang like The Replacements and Magnolia Summer, the power pop of Guided by Voices and The Incurables, and Neko Case and Brandi Carlile’s dark balladry. The subject matter runs deep: the toxic legacy of Midwestern nuclear waste, the emotional impact and ennui of pandemic times, and contemporary movements for peace and ecosystem restoration.
Whispering Lake’s lyrics evoke cosmic sci-fi scenarios and the otherworldly, a wry smile bringing warmth to even the bleakest scenarios.
Whispering Lake’s collabs include members of Impossible Bookings, Zuma and the Sin Finders, The Morning-After Maybes, and Chef Lemons (right above), plus song circles and workshops in the Dar Williams extended universe.
Their unifying force is a sustaining outlook of tragic optimism.
