The Besnard Lakes Live Review

Caught The Besnard Lakes at the Pritzker Pavilion last night for the latest installment of the venue's Free Concert Series. It was kind of a nightmare getting into the city and ended up missing a couple of songs. But what I heard was enough to whet my appetite for more. A band with a sound that big should come from more than 4 members. The Arcade Fire has 35 members and they can't reach the crescendo that Jace Lasek (guitar/keybords/vocal), Olga Goreas (bass/vocal), Kevin Laing (drums), and Rich White (drums) manage to inflict upon the audience. Add into the fact that Lasek is a master-produced and it's amazing that the band can even come close to recreating the vast expanse of their studio works. I will definitely pay to see my perceived best band in the world right now when they come around next.

The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night

The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night
Jagjaguwar
LP/CD

This is, undoubtably, the album I have been most excited to hear of the year. As I write this, I am at 80% of the download I received for pre-ordering it here. I am champing at the bit waiting for this to download. I have already heard the first single, "Albatross," and enjoyed it. But what I learned from 2007's The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse is that one song detached from the whole album isn't as powerful. The Besnard Lakes are one of very few bands that are more concerned with crafting a full album and not just concentrating on a few singles and a some filler. I just realized that I have written an entire paragraph that has very little to do with the actual album.

Mind you, I haven't seen any lyrics so my interpretation is solely on the music and the picture it paints for me. The story that began with Volume 1 and continued through Dark Horse sounds as though it is concluding with a Roaring Night. Both spy characters (each played by the Besnard Lakes husband and wife duo Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas) get to take their parting shots on each other and the world. It all starts off rather somber as if to denote that the spy game that our characters have waged has met its end. The opening tandem tracks making up "Like The Ocean, Like The Innocent," set the mood nicely and is a bit of a straightforward song for them, albeit very well-layered. "Chicago Train," is a remarkably beautiful and the first real acknowledgment that our characters are aware that this is their last pillaging hurrah. "Albatross," shows Goreas as thankful for the destruction the couple has wrought but her capture has brought it to an end prematurely.

The mood then shifts as "Glass Printer," lashes out a bit. "Land Of Living Skies," has Goreas lamenting on her unfortunate fate only for Lasek to arrive and release her, our couple joining together again for their common  final assault. "And This Is What We Call Progress," sounds the beginning of a rebellion against a foe only the creators could know of. It is the groundwork of their endgame. "Light Up The Night", as expected, sets their town ablaze as they watch from a distance. The closer sounds like something that came from their last album with the Angelo Badalamenti style guitars. The song would not be out of place at the Roadhouse in Twin Peaks and makes a perfect requiem for the album and story.

Track Grades:

1. Like The Ocean, Like The Innocent (Parts 1 & 2) - 8.8
2. Chicago Train - 9.9
3. Albatross - 9.5
4. Glass Printer - 8.6
5. Land Of Living Skies (Parts 1 & 2) - 8.7
6. And This Is What We Call Progress - 9.1
7. Light Up The Night - 8.6
8. The Lonely Moan - 9.0

Overall Grade = 9.03