Customer Reviews

Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night [Vinyl]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Canadian band Besnard Lakes, fronted by the husband and wife team of Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas, has released 2 previous albums, the second (2007) release of which was "The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse", a majestic album that was in my Top 5 of the 'Best of the Year'. Now finally comes the highly anticipated third studio album.

"Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night" (10 tracks; 46 min.) starts off with the best track of the album, "Like The Ocean, Like The Innocent", a 9 min. epic track that epitomizes what this band is all about, soaring music, beautiful harmonizing vocals, it has it all. "Chicago Train" is a quieter, haunting song. "Albatross" (1st radio single) features Olga Goreas on lead vocals, but is a curious choice for a lead single in my opinion. "Glass Printer" is classic Besnard Lakes showgazing, just great. The second half of the album starts off with the mammoth 7 min. "Land of the Living Skies", with lush sounds abounding (with plenty of reverb). "And This Is What We Call Progress" is about as straight-forward rock as you'll find on this album, but it works great. "Light Up the Night" is the other must-hear track on here, a 7+ min. of intricate and delicate music, as good as the band has done ever.

In all, this is quite the album. My expectations were high, due to my love for the "Dark Horse" album, and they were met, and then some. Easily a contender for "Album of the Year" for me at this point. I had the good fortune of catching the Besnard Lakes in concert here in Cincinnati (at Bogart's) on their tour in support of the "Dark Horse" album, and what a show it was, just epic, fabulous. With this album, this band is no longer a "Dark Horse", that much is clear. This band is going places. If you wonder where you can hear them, check out WOXY (BAM! The Future of Rock and Roll), the internet-only that is the best indie-music station in the country. Meanwhile, "Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Fire" is highly, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Building on the sound captured on their previous album "The Besnard Lakes are the Dark Horse", the Canadian band has again delivered a masterpiece!

These days it's quite trendy for indie bands to feature Brian Wilson influenced vocals, though most bands take those vocals in a poppy direction. Besnard Lakes feature some of the Brian Wilson influence but situate those vocals definitively in a rock context. Their music has the space of Pink Floyd, space/psych rock instrumentation, accentuated with heavy rock drumming, and layered male and female vocals.

Get this album, and then put on your headphones and enjoy.

The 2nd release from this Montreal, Canada band who
play swirling, dreamy guitar prog-pop epics that fight their way through an ambient rock haze of
divinely distorted elegance. Mixing lugubrious drone atmospherics saturated by orchestral pop
melodies with the occasional clamoring, guitar-driven shoegaze roar, TBL have created a perfect
combination of the raw & the beautiful; prog-rock with soul & power that successfully pursues the
noble purity of rock. Recalls a diverse array of bands: Pink Floyd, Love, Broken Social Scene,
Dears, E.L.O., Beach Boys, Cocteau Twins, Ride...

LOVE the first song and many of the other tracks. The 2nd track is not great....a downer after #1 track. His falsetto is not that good. When I was playing it and a friend said "Uhg, what the hell is that!" I said regardless of track 2 it's an awesome album. :) My girlie and I dig it! Works great at the beach or sitting under the stars at night.

Orchestration, Beach Boy harmonies and atmospheric guitar epics combine to make this a successful serving of introspective psychedelic rock. 12 string guitars, flutes and mellotrons add to the rich and glittering soundscapes on offer here. And This is What We Call Progress fades in from some nether-where and finds an urgent beat as it gradually builds up, layering on the guitars. Penultimate track Light Up the Night is the other highlight, awash with strings and surging piano, it is centred around the vocal chorus which builds and repeats over its 7 1/2 minutes towards a guitar solo. Thrilling stuff.

Not nearly as cohesive as Are the Dark Horse. Like the Ocean, like the Innocent front loads the album with its best track. Still worthy of purchase and interesting. Never thought I'd be liking the new Young Galaxy album better than this but...

Through the first listen I liked what I thought was a sparseness to the overall sound. I was familiar with the Besnard Lakes first (or second) album. There is no way anyone could find this album similar to the last, and absolutely no way anyone could find this one boring.
The first two songs are interwoven and play out at a long nine minutes. Great hooks, guitar lines, melodies. The chorus they almost sound like a Rush-Queen mash up. This is heavy music with a lyrical twist. Then on track four, the band just surprises the Hell outta me with the My Bloody, Brian Eno influenced Albatross. Man, those lines are sung with passion- you almost know the person out there that she is trying to help.
Then in to the other two-part song that is about conquest, armies, and mans' need to lead and follow. Right here is where many others would try to dog the album. They may complain about length, or composition. The Besnard Lakes finish that treat off with a hard rocking number and then the album just coasts in to the stratosphere with a touch of electric kiss. This album is complete.
I think this album is amazing and I could not get it off my player for three weeks after getting it. I really enjoy listening to the band play and think the songs are well constructed and executed. This is an emotional album, with hills and valleys and rivers and lakes. Take the trip down the river and come out the other side refreshed! Excellent!