Gary's Besnard Lakes Review

I’ve glimpsed the future dear friends, and its soundtrack kicks ass. The Besnard Lakes are The Roaring Night is the sonic equivalent of an Arthur C. Clarke novel. From the album’s quivering robotic intro our minds are filled with dystopian futurescapes with shimmering chrome, flashing LED lights and stomping armies of robots. Or at least that’s what I thought of.

The truth is, these songs feel like the future. As if the Beach Boys rocketed forward to the year 2150 and started making gorgeous pop music with our soon-to-be alien overlords. And while the soaring harmonies and haunting falsettos make the Beach Boys a clear touch point, there are definitely more.

Listening to the Besnard Lakes you’ll hear them drawing from sources as diverse as My Bloody Valentine, Polyphonic Spree and yes - even fellow Montrealers Arcade Fire (but who can do chamber pop these days without being compared to them).

But for all its futuristic sounds and Space Odyssey hums, oddly the lyrics never hint at anything more futuristic than a camera. But you get the distinct impression that words are secondary. Maybe not an after-thought - but certainly not the showcase. No, for husband and wife duo Jace Lasek and Olga Gorgeas the beauty is in the writing. These songs aren’t jams but meticulously crafted opuses from start to finish and the stories lie within their melodies.

This isn’t to say there aren’t short comings here and there. At times they fall prey to the shoegazer disease, meandering through songs like a child eating supper (that is to say they take too long) with a few too many songs coming in at a bulky 7 plus minutes. But the good definitely outweighs the bad here and we’re left with extremely beautiful music that soars despite its heft.

My friends, the future is now. The future is The Roaring Night.