The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night
What is great about this album is that upon every listen, there is more to be discovered. Their guitar sound is almost similar to that of the Jesus and Mary Chain, with its distorted, spacey 80′s grunginess. The vocals float perfectly in mid-air, not too in your face, but not too distant or out of reach either. The Besnard Lakes have expanded their instrumental horizons, and have successfully incorporated the 12 string guitar, flute, omnichord and mellotron into the mix with makes the album much more interesting on an instrumental level.
The other thing that is most impressive on this album is the amount of emotion they pack into every song. A good example would be on the slow-tempo “Light Up the Night”. The contrast between the female-male voice duo is similar to that of Stars and the Delgados, and it is another element that makes this album as good as it is. …The Roaring Night shows the Besnard Lakes’ incredible capability of being able to completely turn a song around right before your eyes, without you even noticing what is happening. On numerous tracks such as “Chicago Train” and “Like the Ocean, Like The Innocent Pt.1: The Innocent” the mood changes completely halfway through from dreamy to powerful, guitar-driven psychedelia.
In short, It is an easy album to get lost in; the perfect soundtrack to your days of deep thought and discovery. An ambitious and epic third album by the Besnard Lakes, it is without a doubt a winner. – Amelia Robitaille
Key Tracks: “Like The Ocean, Like The Innocent Pt. 1: The Innocent” and “Land Of Living Skies Pt. 1: The Living Skies”
