besnard-lakes-are-the-dark-horse

The Besnard Lakes playing 'Are the Dark Horse' 10th anniversary full-LP shows

Montreal’s The Besnard Lakes released The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse in 2007, a record which both set their path sonically — the Beach Boys aesthetic by way of Pink Floyd and shoegaze — and cemented them as part of the Canadian city’s exploding music scene. (Members of Stars, The Dears and Godspeed You! Black Emperor played on it, and singer/guitarist Jace Lasek’s Breakglass Studio is where many classic Montreal records have been made.) The album was also a bit of a bridge to Brooklyn with its song “On Bedford and Grand” that featured the opening, “You wouldn’t believe the things that we saw when we took the hell train.” That intersection looks a little different than it did in 2007 but the album still sounds great. You can stream the whole thing via Spotify below.

The Besnard Lakes will be celebrating the album’s 10th anniversary by playing it in full live at a few special shows, including one on September 19 at Baby’s All Right, which is just a few blocks south of the Bedford & Grand intersection. Tickets for that show go on sale Friday, June 30 at noon.

Right before that they’ll also play it at Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern on September 15, which is part of the four-day Night Owl Festival (9/14 – 9/17) at the venue which celebrates “all things psychedelic and weird.” The full lineup hasn’t been announced but includes White Fence, Death Valley Girls, Heaters, and more. Four day passes are on sale now.

There will also be a The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse show in their home city, of course, which will be part of Pop Montreal 2017. That show is September 16 at the Ukrainian Federation and tickets are on sale now.