The Besnard Lakes "Are The Dark Horse"- -Album Review

What to know about the The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse? Like everything else these days, it comes from Montreal. The band, The Besnard Lakes, are related in certain ways to Wolf Parade, Islands, Sunset Rubdown and Stars. George Donoso III from The Dears, Chris Seligman from Stars, Sophie Trudeau from Godspeed/Silver Mt. Zion and Jonathan Cummins from Bionic/Doughboys all took part in the making of the new album (the band's sophomore release). Oh, and it really doesn't sound much like you'd expect it to -- if you assumed it'd be the sum of all those parts, or a meeting point between all the Montreal brethren.

The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse is a tightly wound intimate offering. The songs take a while to build, take a while to unfold, and for this reviewer, took a while to become attractive. But, once you let these eight lush, orchestral chamber rock monsters stomp across your iPod a dozen or so times, you, too, might take a liking to them.

There is evidence of Brian Wilson style vocal harmonies, and the songs even do "invoke the eerie Lynchian setting" (as the press sheet claims). How is that so? Like Lynch, the setting is dark, foreboding and evocative of difficult emotions you might not want to contemplate while listening to music. (Fear? But it's just a Canadian indie rock CD. Discomfort? But I'm in my undies in bed. Existential dread? But it's not Sunday.)

For those not accustomed to challenging music, The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse might remind you of a great Beach Boys compilation played on the wrong rpm. (Does that make sense to younger readers? I mean: it sounds like the Beach Boys slowed down, dragged out and more laconic.) Take from this what you will; I happen to enjoy it greatly.

This album is not for days at the beach, but for days in the house, when you want to focus -- on feeling, on life, and on interesting, complex, but still pop-laden music, and all the questions it asks you to ask.

Or, as sung on track seven, "On Bedford and Grand:" "Yeah."