The release of Echo Lake’s new EP “3445 B” is something I’ve been waiting to hear since high school.

The band, originally a four-person rock group from Seaman High School, put on some great shows back in the day, including a student concert show that literally rocked the socks off those in attendance.

The group has evolved quite a bit since then, though two original members still remain in drummer Matt Mirsch, a senior music major at Washburn, and bassist Scott Stormann. The new members, guitarist/lead vocalist David Hess, Michael Spangler on guitar and saxophonist T.C. Gomez, met Mirsch and Stormann through the Washburn music department and instantly added a newfound spark to the band. The band, which made its name playing mostly rock and ska covers with a few original songs thrown in at local bars such as the Boobie Trap, found a new sound with the addition of the three new members. On their MySpace page, the band describes their sound as a mix between Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, Galactic, Dave Matthews and Stevie Wonder in his Motown days. After listening to the six songs on the CD, it’s very easy to pinpoint specific parts of each song where each of these references can fit in, yet it doesn’t seem forced at all. It’s just natural music played from the heart.

The band, not known for taking itself too seriously, delivers light-hearted music that both entertains and soothes the listener. The funk/blues combination allows for both easy listening and rocking out, and songs such as “Wreckin’ Ball,” and the title-track “3445 B” are quite catchy and will easily get stuck in your head. “Call You Mine” recently received airtime on V100 as the band’s first single, which mixes the classic Dave Matthews acoustic sound with blues-driven electric slide guitar.

The band manages to find its own unique sound on this CD without the songs blending together too much. The variety in styles between the first three songs shows off the bands flexibility.

Be sure to check them out at www.myspace.com/EchoLake or on iTunes.