The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes Are Four Long Lines (2024)

The Besnard Lakes are a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Canada, who were formed in 2003 by the husband and wife team of Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas, and the band are currently a six-piece, featuring  Kevin Laing  on drums, Richard White on guitar, Sheenah Ko on keyboards and Robbie MacArthur on guitar. Centered around the atmospheric songs of Lasek and Goreas, whose expansive sound draws from numerous aspects of rock 'n' roll history, their name comes from Besnard Lake in North-Central Saskatchewan. They released their first album, 'Volume 1', on their own Breakglass Records label in 2003, and after signing to Jagjaguwar Records, their second album, 'The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse' was recorded at singer Lasek's own Breakglass Studios, with members of Stars, The Dears and Godspeed You! Black Emperor/Silver Mt. Zion making guest appearances, This was my introduction to their unique sound, and I was not at all surprised when it was nominated for the 2007 Polaris Music Prize. It was followed in March 2010 by 'The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night', and it was preceded by a 12" single featuring album track 'Albatross' and the non-album 'Four Long Lines' in February. Once again, the album was shortlisted as a nominee for the 2010 Polaris Music Prize. The band next wrote their first film score for the film 'Sympathy For Delicious', from actor/director Mark Ruffalo, and they also wrote and performed the score for the National Film Board of Canada web documentary 'Welcome To Pine Point', which they released as a 12" EP entitled 'You Lived In The City'. 

A new studio album, 'Until in Excess, Imperceptible UFO', was released in April 2013, and inevitably it was longlisted for the 2013 Polaris Music Prize. In 2014, guitarist Richard White removed himself from the band's touring line-up, although he continues to play on their albums, and he was replaced for live performances by guitarist Robbie MacArthur. Following the completion of the 'Until in Excess, Imperceptible UFO' tour, both MacArthur and touring keyboardist Sheenah Ko joined the band's full line-up, and the six-piece began work on their fifth studio album, 'A Coliseum Complex Museum', which was preceded in late 2015 by an EP entitled 'The Golden Lion'. After a gap of two years, the band reappeared with the 'The Besnard Lakes Are The Divine Wind' EP, but it was to be another four years before we heard any new music from them, and so 'The Last Of The Great Thunderstorm Warnings' was gratefully received by their fans. A 27-minute long EP, entitled 'The Besnard Lakes Are The Prayers For The Death Of Fame', came out in October 2022 on Full Time Hobby, and their most recent release was the 14-track live album, 'The Besnard Lakes Are A Live', which appeared just a few months ago. The Besnard Lakes have been one of my favourite bands ever since I first heard '...The Dark Horse' album, and having now collected and listened to these non-album singles, b-sides and covers, I love them even more.  

Track listing

Disc I - 2004-2010
01 Life Rarely Begins With Tungsten Film #2 (single 2004)
02 Aviation (b-side of 'Life Rarely Begins With Tungsten Film #2')
03 Would Anybody Come To Visit Me (single 2005)
04 Casino Nanaimo (single 2007)
05 The Beautiful Ones (Prince cover 2008)
06 Love You (from 'The Madcap Laughs Again!' 2010)
07 Four Long Lines (b-side of 'Albatross' 2010)
08 I've Got A Feeling (from the MOJO compilation 'Let It Be Revisited' 2010) 

Disc II - 2011-2015
01 We're Here For A Good Time (Not A Long Time) (from the 'You Lived In The City' EP 2011)
02 Holiday Sin (from the 'You Lived In The City' EP 2011)
03 Some Colour In The Sky (from the 'You Lived In The City' EP 2011)
04 The Corner (from the 'You Lived In The City' EP 2011)
05 You Make Loving Fun (from 'Rumours Revisited' 2013)
06 The Motorway (b-side of 'Golden Lion' 2015)
07 In The Forest (b-side of 'Golden Lion' 2015)

Disc III - 2017-2024
01 Laura Lee (from '...Are The Divine Wind' EP 2017)
02 The Divine Wind (from '...Are The Divine Wind' EP 2017)
03 Superego (free 7" single with 'Thunderstorm Warnings' album 2021)
04 She's An Icicle (from '...Are The Prayers For The Death Of Fame' EP 2022)
05 A Jackey For A Rainy Lady (from '...Are The Prayers For The Death Of Fame' EP 2022)
06 Silver Shadows (from '...Are The Prayers For The Death Of Fame' EP 2022)
07 (Dizzy) Eagle (single 2024)

Thanks to _ilovebeans for providing the copy of 'Aviation'. 

Various Artists - The Hitmakers Sing Syd Barrett (2022)

In the second half of 1967 and through to early 1968, while still part of Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett's behaviour became increasingly erratic and unpredictable, with reports of him on stage with the group during this period strumming on one chord through an entire concert or not playing at all. Following an increasingly difficult US tour with him in 1967, and with David Gilmour drafted in to help out with live dates, the rest of the band decided that they couldn't work with Barrett any more, and on 6 April 1968 they officially announced that he was no longer a member of Pink Floyd. After Barrett left Pink Floyd, Peter Jenner and Andrew King, from the band's management, followed suit, feeling that as Barrett was the creative centre of the band, they would rather represent him than Pink Floyd. In May Jenner led Barrett into EMI Studios to record some solo material, but this was only partially successful, with most tracks having no vocals. Recording resumed in June and July, with better progress being made this time, but shortly after the July dates, Barrett abruptly stopped recording, breaking up with girlfriend Lindsay Corner, and then going off on a drive around Britain in his Mini, at the end of which he ended up in psychiatric care in Cambridge. 

By the start of 1969, a somewhat recovered Barrett decided to return to his musical career and revisit the Jenner-produced recordings, and so in April 1969 he began working on newer material, while reworking the 1968 recordings. After some months of work on the songs, Barrett told his flatmate that he was going off "for an afternoon drive", but instead followed Pink Floyd out to Ibiza, and during the trip, he asked David Gilmour for his help on the album, and so at the end of May, Malcolm Jones abandoned his production responsibilities and Gilmour and Waters took over. Although they were in the process of completing Pink Floyd's 'Ummagumma' album, they took time out and helped Barrett finish his album, managing to record a number of his songs during a June session, and then coming back to complete the project after taking a temporary break to mix 'Ummagumma' and undertake a tour of the Netherlands. After several months of intermittent recording, the album was finally deemed complete, and once the final recording sessions for the album had been completed, Gilmour and Waters mixed not just the tracks they had produced, but also the previously recorded songs with Malcolm Jones, in a matter of two days. 

'Octopus' was released as a single in November 1969, and 'The Madcap Laughs' followed on 2 January 1970, with both records appearing on the Harvest Records label. The album was fairly well-reviewed by music critics, and has since become something of a classic of the psychedelic music genre, and so the songs are ripe for interpretation by other bands with the same midset. Marc And The Mambas deliver a great take on 'Terrapin', and Slowdive's version of 'Golden Hair' is pretty much exactly as you would expect it to sound. REM have covered 'Dark Globe', and The Shamen and The Mock Turtles have both provided superb takes of a couple of songs from the record for official tribute albums to Barrett, while two of my personal favourite bands finally appear together, with The Green Pajamas and The Cleaners From Venus both giving it their best. I'll have to admit that this is one of the most idiosyncratic collections in this series, but every artist on here shows an obvious love for the source material, and so in the end it makes for an intriguing and enjoyable listen. 

Track listing

01 Terrapin (Marc And The Mambas 1982) 
02 No Good Trying (The Mock Turtles 1987)
03 Love You (The Besnard Lakes 2010)
04 No Man's Land (Race Horses 2010)
05 Dark Globe (REM 1989)  
06 Here I Go (The Balters 2022)
07 Octopus (Carnival Art 1990)
08 Golden Hair (Slowdive 1991)
09 Long Gone (The Shamen 1987)
10 She Took A Long Cold Look (The Green Pajamas 2000)
11 Feel (Marinus Pee 2015)
12 If It's In You (Jennifer Gentle 2010)
13 Late Night (The Cleaners From Venus 1985)