I have been waiting for a song of the year candidate to rear its head, fall in my lap, reach from my speakers and shake me. It’s March, I know. I hate premature song/album of the year blather as much as you do. But perhaps you haven’t heard Devastation by the Besnard Lakes.
Quite simply, it kills. Everything in its path. It appears on the group’s LP, The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse, which NPR says “demonstrates a remarkable flair for dramatic shifts between initial fragility and walloping dynamics.” NPR forgot to mention the album cover art: a black stallion engulfed in flames! I think if I spent a lot of time at coffeehouses reading philosophy books I could attach a metaphorical meaning to this imagery. But I don’t, so I can’t. However, I will say this: It’s a black stallion engulfed in flames! And I sort of want a poster of it, but it has to be made of that fuzzy, velvet-y fabric.
But back to Devastation. This is nearly six minutes of major ambition, a juxtaposition in sound of thick classic-rock riffs and modern, swirling synths. The group’s Montreal home means obligatory comparisons to the Arcade Fire and the like. But I take more of a Low-ish vibe from the album – spacious sounds and distant vocals; maybe something closer to Pink Floyd (though I claim to be no expert on Floyd).
Judge for yourself: You can stream Are the Dark Horse at Jagjaguwar. Also, the Besnard Lakes are at the Paper Heart in Phoenix on March 19 with Dirty on Purpose.
If somehow they could incorporate a real, live stallion galloping through flames at the venue, I might just follow them around the country.
The Besnard Lakes | Devastation
The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse is available at eMusic.
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[...] Read the full article by Kevin [...]
Pingback by The Besnard Lakes: Devastation » Unprocessed Sounds 03.14.07 @ 1:14 amI have been addicted to Devastation ever since the album came out. It has to be my favorite song of the year so far.
Comment by Bradley 03.17.07 @ 7:32 amThanks, if it’s better than the TBL song GvsB just put up then some money will probably be working it’s way to them pretty soon. First impressions make me kind of think of a Canadian Super Furry Animals. But that’s just me.
Good stuff.
Comment by Jimbob 03.21.07 @ 2:45 pm[...] So Much Silence [...]
Pingback by Passion of the Weiss » Blog Archive » Beards, Blazers & Glasses: The Besnard Lakes 08.17.07 @ 5:58 pm[...] Ah, I suppose it had to end sometime. But Devastation, as I’ve noted before, is a monster, a runaway train, a cannonball, a raging bull, King Kong. You get the picture. The Besnards didn’t play it when they came through Phoenix in March, so it was mandatory they do it this time. I just didn’t expect it so early in the set. The song is so grand, I’d just assume it’s tailor made as a closer; that that task fell to And You Lied to Me, which ended in a cacophony of feedback, capped by Olga Goreas’ solo display of manipulated bass distortion/buzz/fuzz. [...]
Pingback by So Much Silence 09.20.07 @ 11:24 pm[...] of my favorite songs of 2007, Devastation by the Besnard Lakes, now has a visual accompaniment. (Thanks to Chromewaves for the heads [...]
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