Artist: Peter Lake | Album: Yellow EP | Release Date: July 30, 2021 | Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
Colors carry meaning. For some, yellow evokes sunshine and optimism; for others, caution and change. For the enigmatic Peter Lake, yellow represents something more complex—a fantastical journey through love, loss, and the fleeting nature of existence. His three-track EP, simply titled Yellow, delivers on this ambitious premise with a collection of songs that reward repeated listening and careful attention.
Overview
Released alongside a cinematic music video trilogy directed by Paul Boyd (known for his work with Shania Twain, Lenny Kravitz, and Neon Trees), Yellow represents Lake at his most conceptually ambitious. The EP isn't merely a collection of songs but a unified artistic statement, with each track exploring different facets of the human experience through the lens of that singular color.
Track-by-Track Analysis
Track 1: "Past Lives"
The EP opens with "Past Lives," a meditation on romantic love complicated by metaphysical belief. The song explores a relationship caught in a unique conflict: what happens when two people believe in reincarnation while simultaneously understanding that life is for the living?
Lake's lyrics navigate this tension with surprising grace. The production builds from intimate acoustic verses to sweeping choruses, mirroring the song's thematic expansion from personal reflection to cosmic consideration. The melody is immediately memorable, with a hook that embeds itself in the listener's consciousness.
Track 2: "6 Seconds"
The EP's emotional centerpiece, "6 Seconds," takes a sharp turn from romantic contemplation to something far more sobering. Inspired by a 2010 speech given by General John Kelly honoring two fallen marines, the song memorializes the split-second heroism of Corporal Jonathan Yale and Lance Corporal Jordan Haerter.
The title refers to the brief window in which these young men made a decision that would cost them their lives but save countless others. Lake transforms this moment of sacrifice into a broader meditation on how we spend our time and what we're willing to give for others.
Track 3: "Blue Flower Blue"
The EP closes with "Blue Flower Blue," returning to the personal register of the opening track but with a melancholic twist. Here, Lake captures the essence of "feeling blue" through the metaphor of flowers and leaves changing color with the seasons.
Lake has explained the song's central image: "Losing love is like the colors of the flowers and leaves changing color. The colors are gone and so is the love." This simple comparison becomes surprisingly powerful in execution.
The Visual Component
Any review of Yellow would be incomplete without addressing the accompanying music video trilogy. Directed by Paul Boyd and produced by Eric Barrett, the three videos form a continuous 12-minute film starring Jeremy Connors as a rugged biker protagonist and Brandy Redd as a mysterious extraterrestrial visitor.
Production and Sound
The production throughout Yellow strikes a careful balance between polish and authenticity. Lake's voice sits prominently in the mix, his delivery ranging from intimate whispers to full-throated declarations as the material demands. The instrumental arrangements favor organic sounds—acoustic guitars, piano, subtle strings—while incorporating enough modern production touches to feel contemporary.
Verdict
Yellow is a confident, cohesive work from an artist who continues to defy expectations. In just three tracks, Peter Lake delivers more emotional and thematic depth than many artists manage across full-length albums. The EP rewards close listening while remaining immediately accessible—a difficult balance that Lake navigates with apparent ease.
Standout Track: "6 Seconds" — for its ambitious scope and emotional impact
For Fans Of: Iron & Wine, The National, Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes
