Blue-eyed soul man Colin Lake has spent a lot time on the water. Somehow in 2008, Lake found himself washed ashore in his personal paradise: New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. As he went to board a plane back to Portland, he met his future wife and the two would eventually plant roots in the Crescent City where he gigged around, playing various events at the Jazz Museum and holding a residency at d.b.a.

Before he and his wife spontaneously sold their home and set sail for the waters of the Caribbean in 2017, the blues and folk singer/guitarist recorded a series of songs in New Orleans that would become the aptly titled, Forces of Nature. Released last month via Splice Records, the album was recorded just before his high seas adventure with the help of Grammy-winner Eric Heigle, drummer for Lost Bayou Ramblers.

It is ironic that now in November 2020, as this difficult year approaches its close, Lake, a native of the Pacific Northwest, is releasing the uplifting single and video for “Extraordinary Times.” The video showcases families, workers, and folks from all walks of life coping in quarantine life, their eyes often smiling from masked up faces. Lake belts out his lyrics from his home in Guatemala where he has been sequestered away with his family throughout most of the pandemic.

“You don’t hear no stories ‘bout men from ordinary times/The time has passed for lookin’ out through ordinary eyes/Look to your heroes, and courage you may find/May your spirit lead you through extraordinary times,” sings the optimistic Lake in a tone so catchy it calls to mind the carefree sounds of Blues Traveler, Spin Doctors, and Little Feat. The sunshine in Colin Lake’s song and video are an infectious but healthy dose of vitamin sea and positivity for these troubled times.

Forces of Nature is out now and available for purchase at colinlake.com. Watch the video for “Extraordinary Times” below.