The Besnard Lakes were one of a few pleasant surprises at SXSW for me earlier this year, and in the time since that show I’ve grown quite fond of their most recent record, The Besnard Lakes are the Dark Horse. That record is an interesting collage of brooding, winding dirges that slowly build to classic rock catharsis, with a sensibility that’s very seventies and also with some sixties-style harmonizing thrown in for good measure. It wasn’t an immediate record, but after spending some time with it …The Horse will likely end up in my top twenty this year.

I consequently held high hopes for the show; the Mercury Lounge would also give them the chance to deliver in the way that an outdoor stage with a short set at SXSW would not. I was very satisfied with the results: the Besnard Lakes brought their own sound man, and the mix was impeccable, albeit about two notches too loud for such a small room. The band had been on the road a great deal (if not continuously) since I last saw them, and they had the chops to prove it. Every song was crisp, and they created the atmosphere necessary to keep a sold-out crowd’s attention through tracks that build slowly and are not meant for the ADD set. Every time the band opened up for a big chorus, the sonic rush was satisfying and emotional. I left feeling very nostalgic for a moment in time I never knew, where I imagine hearing songs like that on AM radio while cruising down some wide open highway in the evening, and listening to them later at home on vinyl, in my wood paneled basement den with shag carpeting, feeling a little righteous. I wouldn’t recommend this band to the completely uninitiated, but if you’ve heard the record before, absolutely go check them out.

Labels: Besnard Lakes, Concert Reviews