Track Listing

1. Disaster
2. For Agent 13
3. And You Lied to Me
4. Devastation
5. Because Tonight
6. Rides the Rails
7. On Bedford and Grand
8. Cedric's War

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #111161 in Music
• Released on: 2007-02-20
• Number of discs: 1

Album Description
Rich with Beach Boys style harmonies, Roy Orbison reverbs and orchestra, Pink Floyd's pacing and Freddie Mercury's falsetto, the second record by Montreal's Besnard Lakes is a luxurious foray into sound and music. They're masters of finely-honed experimental pop songs that invoke the eerie Lynchian setting as aided and abetted by the music of Julee Cruise, but on this record, the band throws into the mix a mad dash of Fleetwood Mac proportioned swagger and ambition.

Amazon.com
It's not too hard to imagine what the Besnard Lakes' record collection might look like after hearing the eight songs here--the Beach Boys and Spiritualized taking position somewhere near the front--but that doesn't break the tantalizing spell cast by the Montréal husband-and-wife team of Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas. A dreamy cocktail of West Coast harmonies, glum strings, and fuzzy psychedelic arrangements, the disc is something of a bleak masterpiece that takes after the Arcade Fire's Funeral. Songs like "Disaster" and "Devastation" (it's not too hard to detect a theme, either) rattle around on wobbly guitars and shimmering electronic effects until they spill over in a big rumpus, driven on by a six-person band and five-piece choir. The group's main attraction, however, is Goreas, who has a softly sensual voice pitched somewhere between Hope Sandoval and a wet, warm kiss behind the ear. --Aidin Vaziri

Customer Reviews

The Besnard Lakes Are Truly The Dark Horse
Another amazing band emerges from Montreal, fronted by husband and wife. Main vocalist and songwriter Jace has produced Sunset Rubdown, Wolf Parade and more. The album features members of the Dears, Godspeed You Black Emperor!, and more. The cred is there... but that doesn't always mean much.

But these guys have risen far above all that... guest appearances and past glories aside, The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse is a truly surprising, original and vigorous album.

An odd and strangely appealing collection of influences come together on the record. The vocals immediately recall Brian Wilson, as do the harmonies that singer Jace writes. But these vocal sounds are set against spacey, shoegaze style backing. The songs feature slow core arrangements in the vein of Low at times. At others they take off in proggy and floydian directions. At others the carefully arranged strings and horns give a more baroque/orchestral feel. The strategically placed tremolo guitar gives a southern feel (think My Morning Jacket). The odd and exciting combinations are endless.

The Album kicks off with `Disaster', a track that starts with sweet harmonies and unique strings, then becomes entirely odd and utterly intriguing by its completion.

Track 2, `For Agent 13', is a particularly exceptional example of the eclecticism previously mentioned. It comes off like Mazzy Star collaborating with Brian Wilson on a Sigur Ros cover version. `And You Lied To Me' hits a huge reverb drenched, guitar solo climax that is driven home by pounding 70s style classic rock drums and thick melodic bass. Warped electronic squeals finish the track.

The following track, Devastation, charges in with a heavy/hard rock riff that gives way to completely spaced out vocals... Think Spiritualized complete with uplifting female group chorus...without the arrogance.

Things mellow momentarily for the start of `Because Tonight', displaying yet another side of the band. Subtle electronics flitter over sharp guitar strums and eerie vocals. Creepy strings and dirge like bass keep the track crawling along. Midway through, things start to really lift, with the strings gaining urgency, the guitars soaring, and the drums building. This is Explosions In The Sky meets Slowdive with more pop sensibility and instrumental scope than either.

Anyway, I think I've said enough!! The only slight miss-step is `On Bedford and Grand' which, while enjoyable enough, treads slightly more pedestrian avenues than the rest of the material.

In any case, if you like any of the bands or styles cited above, if you're into exciting and unique indie rock with an epic edge, if you want something that utilizes a number of familiar genres in engaging new ways, then you should buy this album. Just pips Arcade Fire and The Shins as my favourite 2007 release so far. And outstrips both in terms of breaking new ground.

Best of 2007: My New Favorite Band!
2007 has been so far as prolific of a year for music as 2005 was. But one of the most amazing releases of the year has been the latest release by The Besnard Lakes, titled "The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse". This album blends in the talents of many of Canada's best indie artists to produce a musical jewel that will live forever.

The sound of the band presents harmonies not unlike Brian Wilson's, with a leap into more psychedelic territory, the kind of Spiritualized or early Pink Floyd. At times, other acts that come to mind are M83 and (musically) The Dears and even Godspeed! You Black Emperor. Both of these last two bands have members representing them in the lineup throughout the album, so the similarities are not coincidental.

In the end, this is one solid album that I can't stop playing and has turned The Besnard Lakes into my new favorite band.

4.5 Stars.... Excellent follow-up album and one of 2007's surprise albums
Let me state upfront that I was unfamiliar with The Besnard Lakes until I heard them on the excellent internet indie rock station WOXY. After that I dove into the band's music and listened to their musical output so far. 2005's "Volume 1" was ok, but I have been charmed much more by this album. If you are not familiar with the band's sound, it's a concontion of My Morning Jacket meets the Beach Boys meets Godspeed You! Back Emperor, yea, for real.

On "The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse" (8 tracks, 45 min.), the band, fronted by the husband and wife team of Olga Goreas and Jace Lasek, expand very nicely on the early beginnings of the band. Check out the opener "Disaster", which goes back and forth between soft and harder-crunching music, intermixed with harmonizing vocals reminiscent of the Beach Boys. But in style it really reminds me more of My Morning Jacket era-Tennessee Fire and At Dawn, even though the music rocks, HARD at times. Other highlights on the album for me are the epic 7+ min. "And You Lied To Me", the Olga-fronted and hard charging "Devistation", and "Because Tonight", another 7+ min. tune. But in truth, there are no weak tracks on this album. The whole album clips along very nicely, and at 45 min. from beginning to end, you find yourself playing it again and again, can you have a better compliment to an album?

The Besnard Lakes came to Cincinnati in early December (opening for Peter, Bjorn & John) and I was absolutly mesmorised how the songs of "The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse" resonated in concert, even better than on the album, with a terrific "wall of sound". This is for me one of the surprise albums of the year. Highly recommended!