Three weeks in, and already I think I have found what will probably be two of my top 5 albums of 2007. It's going to be hard for anyone to eclipse Arbouretum and The Besnard Lakes this year. The Besnard Lakes have been around for a while. In 2003 they released "Volume 1." It's definitely worth a listen, but at times it seems a bit too loose and unfocused; kind of rough around the edges. There's a lot of promise, though, buried under the layers of fuzz and distortion. [...]
Today's artwork comes courtesy of a great little site that has been providing me with amazing desktop backgrounds for the last couple of months. Check out Amateur Illustrator for an ever growing collection of quality user-submitted artwork, it's the epitome of a niche social network and I hope it goes on to become really popular. (Pic courtesy of Si Clark ). On the music side, there's a load of new stuff and no content to merit a gig guide. Casting my lazy eye over the list of albums due in 2007, it's impossible not [...]
The Besnard Lakes are more than just another hyped rookie band from Montreal. Most of the musicians involved have been in the industry for years, so "rookie" would certainly not be a term to describe them. This applies particulary to frontman Jace Lasek, who contributed vital production work to Wolf Parade's Apologies to the Queen Mary and Sunset Rubdown's Shut Up I Am Dreaming . Those are two albums that could be considered some of the best for their year of release (2005 and 2006). With those two [...]
On The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse , Montreal husband and wife duo Jase Lacek and Olga Goreas employ several Beach Boys recording techniques-most notably, harmonizing in a sweet falsetto from, like, opposite sides of a canyon-but when those shimmering guitars enter like a plane flying overhead on "For Agent 13," we begin to suspect that maybe The Besnard Lakes are a different sort of beast. Dark Horse is as much dream pop and shoegaze and Pink Floyd as it is Yet Another Gruaduate Of The Carl Newman Institute Of Brian Wilson, and [...]
Jagjaguwar Records who signed over the summer Montreal's The Besnard Lakes , a six-peace atmospheric band centered around husband-and-wife Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas, will be releasing their sophomore album, The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse , will be released on Jagjaguwar on February 20, 2007. It was recorded in the same studio (Lasek's) as Wolf Parade, Islands and Sunset Rubdown . The album features guest appearances by members of bands such as Stars , The Dears and Gospeed!/A Silver Mt. Zion . [...]
(And it is for that very reason that it's my lucky number.) I've got four bands here ... I'm about to write 'em all down, so you guys can check them out! Oh, and depending on how annoyed I get after writing this, I will most likely also include a cool new track (you'll have to read on!) ... I love it when a band comes out of a city that I don't necessarily associated with being cool. Like Cleveland (my hometown) ... or in the case of Beach House , Baltimore. This band is [...]
Born by the River
The Muso
Obscure Sound
Wolf Notes
Hate Something Beautiful
BiBaBiDi
Bobby Womack & Lana Del Rey
Video: Chromatics – “These Streets Will Never Look The Same”
Video: 2:54 - "Creeping"
