Formed originally as the primary songwriting vehicle for Baltimore native James Sarsgaard, Noble Lake began playing shows in 2006, first as a quartet, then settling into a trio that came to include local multi-instrumentalists Andy Stack and Jenn Wasner. The group's sound recalls the dusty, string band dirge of Depression era American folk and country acts like the Carter Family and Doc Boggs as well as the bleak lyricism and bright harmonies of Richard and Linda Thompson. Firm devotees to the narrative song, Noble Lake builds a frame upon tales of itinerant travelers, drunks and self destructive lovers, environmental disaster and a shrinking world and uses it as a launching point for tightly wound acoustic tapestries that range from high lonesome, straightforward folk to ragged, pulsating drones that bring to mind the sonic terrain mined by the Dirty Three, Jack Rose and the like.