Fronted by singer-songwriter Tony Dekker, Great Lake Swimmers make atmospheric folk rock with a charmingly outdoorsy, yet not unsophisticated, feel. Bret Higgins’s Atlas Revolt, in contrast, is more urban in tone; the quintet’s eponymous debut, issued on saxophonist John Zorn’s New York City–based Tzadik label, is cosmopolitan and provocative, combining state-of-the-art improvisation with Balkan beats, Latin rhythms, and indie-rock intensity.

Yet the two groups have more in common than meets the ear, even beyond the fact that bassist Higgins and drummer Joshua Van Tassel power them both.

“As I get older, I feel like the gaps are getting kind of narrower in terms of what goes into the music, and what you can play around with,” Higgins explains in a phone call from his Toronto home. “And I don’t necessarily think, playing certain songs with a band like Great Lake Swimmers and then some of my own stuff, that they’re that far apart.

“Of course, when you bring the improvisational element into the performance, that does change things, because there’s that jazz flavour kind of sprinkled on top of everything: ‘We’re going to play a theme, and then we’re going to go for something interesting and unique that’s a one-time event.’ Maybe there’s a little less of that when you do more of a traditional songwriter-type thing. But in terms of the actual music, I don’t feel like they’re that different. I don’t have to flick my brain over too far to get from one situation to the other.”

That both bands feature strong tunes must help. It wouldn’t be much of a stretch to add a vocalist to Atlas Revolt tracks like “Electric Sinner”, with its moody bass and chiming guitar; in fact, violinist Aleksandar Gajić pretty much takes that role, playing Higgins’s melody with aching intensity. “I definitely think very lyrically when I think about writing melodies,” the bassist says. “I want things that I can sing, and that make sense—to the way my brain moves, anyways.”

Higgins’s prominent use of the violin is another link between Atlas Revolt and the Swimmers. But where the admittedly wonderful Miranda Mulholland is grounded in old-time country and Celtic sounds, Gajić is anything but a folk fiddler.

“He’s an incredible musician,” Higgins says of his band’s Serbian-born star. “I mean, he can play anything, which is kind of insane.…At one point he was the concertmaster of the Belgrade Philharmonic, I believe, so he’s pretty steeped in the classical tradition, and he does a lot of classical work still. But since he’s come to Canada he’s become a first-call violin player in Toronto for a lot of different crossover things. And I think in the background of his own life there’s a lot of traditional Serbian music. It’s a real melting pot over there, from what I understand.”

Atlas Revolt is its own kind of melting pot, too. Guitarist Tom Juhas takes a post–Bill Frisell approach to his instrument, in that he’s not afraid to add a little distortion to the mix, while keyboardist Robbie Grunwald is a master of subtle texture. Add Gajić’s polished tone and the rhythm section’s earthy aplomb, and you’ve got a band that’s easy to love—and there’s nothing revolting about that.

Bret Higgins’ Atlas Revolt plays the WISE Hall on Friday (April 28).