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Pressure tacticsThe dark horse no more, the Besnard Lakes meet and beat expectations for their third album IN WITH A ROAR: The Besnard Lakes |
My first introduction to the Besnard Lakes was in the cramped yet popular local venue Barfly. They quickly became my favourite local band, and they still are. With the release of their second record, 2007’s …Are the Dark Horse, on taste maker label Jagjaguwar, the secret was definitely out, with a Polaris Prize nomination, a substantial European following, a much ballyhooed SXSW showcase and their sophomore record eventually landing on numerous year-end Top 10 lists. Their new record, ...Are the Roaring Night, beats their previous release on all fronts, with their expert mélange of psychedelia and shoegaze pop still intact, but the band—headed up by husband-and-wife multi instrumentalist duo Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas—manage to expand their dense sound and hit new heights. Due to close personal ties between interviewer and interviewees, and Goreas’ and Lasek’s odd aversion to yammering on about their own band, the interview was conducted via e-mail in the interest of preserving a modicum of professionalism. Mirror: You’ve previously mentioned that you utilize the studio as an instrument and a songwriting tool. Was this more the case with the new record? Olga Goreas: The studio has really become an important element in the character of the band. There are so many sounds that are created in and unique to the studio environment, like a broken space echo being fed an e-bowed guitar, the physical space of the tracking room or the echo chamber we use to put vocals through. M: How much of the songwriting is off the cuff and how much of it is prepared before recording? OG: We usually have ideas that we bring in and record, and then build the song around it. I think our spontaneity comes in that we don’t really have any pre-production, and once we hit “record,” we basically hit the ground running. But there is also a constructed nature to the songs. We like experimentation, and to work outside of convention, but I think we eventually come back and reassess based on what we know, which is a more classic song structure. M: Is it hard, making the songs translate live? Jace Lasek: One of the tough tasks is learning how to play in a live context from the records we make. We create our records in the studio with no regard for live performance, so it can be a bit tricky figuring out how to perform the material. M: Was there pressure following up on the success of …Are the Dark Horse? OG: Maybe I felt a little bit of pressure when we first went in to record, but after a couple days, I felt safe in my skin again. Moreover, part of the creative process is to feel that you can better yourself, and I am very proud of this album. JL: I found it a bit stressful making a third record. I really had to put blinders on and try to make the record in a cocoon. We’ve never made a record before where we knew there would be people wanting to hear it, and I felt I really needed to make this new record in the same vein as the other two records—no pressure, and for ourselves. ALBUM LAUNCH WITH THE SUNDAY |
