In a dream world

Music Row
By Brian Rademaekers

When Jack Kerouac banged out his famous novel On The Road in 1951, he was said to have done it in a span of three amphetamine-fueled weeks while gobbling fistfuls of Benzedrine, his prose flowing on one long scroll of typewriter paper.
Kerouac’s mythical feat is just one in a whole canon of pop-culture lore that boasts of maniacal marathons of creative inspiration.
What doesn’t get much attention, however, is those works of art that are fashioned in a more meditative process, like a good Confucian lover who takes series of smoke breaks before getting the job done.
That bit-by-bit approach has been the course favored by the Besnard Lakes, a Montreal-based sextet built around husband and wife Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas on the group’s last two albums.
Their first album, simply titled Volume One, was done over a two-year period and released in 2003. That largely instrumental work introduced fans to the rich and dreamy world of the Besnards, a universe constructed of warm atmospheric harmonies and spaced-out solos.
Four years later, the Montreal couple have released their second album, The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse. While those years may seem an excessive stretch to record eight songs, the album delivers compositions of such extravagance that the time seems well spent.
Luxuriant and epical, the booming soundscapes on Dark Horse are packed to the brim and layered with many months of recordings. And for as much tape as they burned through during those four years, it would seem that the album was arranged meticulously, with each progression of sound painstakingly etched out before the master tracks were formed. That quality can, in part, be attributed to Besnard Lakes having a bit of a home-court advantage.
Lasek and Goreas own and operate the Break Glass recording studio in Montreal, putting them in the center of one of the world’s most happening indie rock scenes. During the same time that they were working on their own album, they helped to produce tracks for such venerable bands as the Stars, Wolf Parade and Sunset Rubdown.
Just being in the presence of such musicians would test the nerves of most bands working on their sophomore album. But Lasek and Goreas worked side by side with some of the hottest bands around today, and the inspiration is quite apparent on Dark Horse.
Their connections to the burgeoning Canadian indie rock scene also brought some nice guest appearances on Dark Horse, including Silver Mt. Zion’s Sophie Trudeau, the Dears’ George Donoso III, the Stars’ Chris Seligman, and Jonathan Cummins from Bionic/Doughboys.
Given the luxury of working on the album at their leisure, not to mention the artistic atmosphere of working with so many stellar artists and a healthy dose of talented friends who contributed as well, it’s easy to understand the impetus for the unique beauty that Besnard Lakes has captured on Dark Horse.
In addition to Lasek’s vocals and guitar work, complemented by Goreas’ vocals and bass, the couple are bolstered by keyboardist Nicky Lizee, guitarists Steve Raegele and Richard White, and Kevin Laing on drums.
Together, the sextet creates a sound that is both dark and beautiful, merging the shadowy ambiance of Pink Floyd with harmonies reminiscent of the Beach Boys. During Besnard’s austere moments, they also take on the soft fuzziness of Low, an indie rock contemporary.
Formed more than a decade before Besnard, Low also is propelled by a husband-and-wife duo, giving evidence to the greatness of the music that love can make. And while the two bands share an uncanny likeness during Besnard’s mellow sessions of whispered lyrics and languid keys, that parallel is only a part of the songs on Dark Horse.
One of the best demonstrations of their balanced offering of lush atmospherics and sweltering rock comes in the seven-minute masterpiece, And You Lied to Me. It starts with Lasek’s soft crooning layered over a loopy guitar riff and splashing cymbals for just under five minutes. Then, after a near halt accented by murmuring, an absolutely stunning double assault of guitars carries the song into a grinning oblivion.
While that song builds slowly over the length of what normally would be two pop songs, other album tracks are more swift to deliver instant gratification. The album’s starter, Devastation, comes to mind. A guitar riff heavy on the reverb rips through the song while Lasek unleashes angst-laden lyrics clearly stirred by the current wars; Goreas’ otherworldly voice provides an eerily sweet refrain . . . devastation, devastation.
As a sophomore album, the work shows much promise for the future of these Montreal lovebirds. Considering the passage of time between releases, fans will do well so see these folks when they come to Johnny Brenda’s on Monday night. ••

Check it out!

Who: The Besnard Lakes
What: Two of Montreal’s best indie rock producers dish out their own sound.
Where: Johnny Brenda’s, Frankford and Girard avenues
When: Monday, July 16, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $8.