Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Besnard Lakes

I feel like I’m liking too many records this year, but what can you do?

For instance, I really liked the new Besnard Lakes, Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night reviewed today at Blurt, eight stars worth.

The third album by Montrealean married duo Olga Goreas and Jace Lasek churns cathedral-sized anthems and clots them with MBV-ish miasmas of guitar murk. It pits unstoppable melodic climaxes against paranoiac visions of espionage and betrayal. Enormous in scale, absorbing, obliterating, this is an album that picks you up on a tidal wave of conjured emotion, sucks you under, tosses you about and finally leaves you beached and gasping. It is an anti-war album that could rally an army, rousing powerful, untethered emotions to who knows what end. It is inchoately persuasive, and you buy in without really knowing what the message is.

The remainder here

“Albatross”

6 comments:

Jean-Luc Garbo said...

This one really got on my good side. It's got this bombastic elan that reminds me of recent stuff from Low and RGC. I like 'Albatross' as much as everyone else, but 'Light Up The Night' impressed me, too.

jenniferpkelly said...

It's definitely a big sound, but I think they manage to carry it off.

There's nothing worse than empty bombast...ahem, Neon Bible, ahem.

Jean-Luc Garbo said...

There was bombast on Neon Bible? I thought that was just angst blasting from their church organ. Muse is empty bombast for sure - ugh. I didn't hear BL's last album, but the big sound worked here for me. I think the bottom of it was what helped me out. It didn't seem too long either despite the track lengths. I'll have to keep an eye on these guys now.

cuddlefish said...

Saw them play yesterday. Even as a four-piece, the BIG sound came through. Too bad it was such a short set - and they were late starting. Jace apologized to the crowd for the short set saying that unfortunately "all of our songs are at least twelve minutes long".

jenniferpkelly said...

Oh, cool, Clif, where are you posting your photos this time?

cuddlefish said...

I'll send you a link once they are actually up.