The Besnard Lakes
Cargo, London
31/03/2010

With their buoyant new record (‘The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night’) out to spread their reputation before them, Quebec’s Besnard Lakes have more than enough haunting and energising new material to see them through a ninety minute set. Indeed, ninety minutes seems somewhat paltry when you consider the songs they left out, most notably the album’s most triumphant moment, ‘Light Up The Night’.

Logically, though, they begin with ‘Like The Ocean, Like The Innocent’ (parts 1 and 2, thank you very much), which succeeds in morphing beautifully from meekness to majesty in its crawling minutes. Singer and guitarist Jace Lasek looks equal parts Kevin Shields and Noddy Holder (despite his own admittance that he has the look of a child molester about him), but has a courageous falsetto that is all his own. Communal singing is a big deal for The Besnard Lakes, with much employment of dreamy four-part harmonies, but it is Lasek’s voice that takes the Brian Wilson role, continually cutting through and sailing atop.

Further highlights include a muscular version of ‘Albatross’ and a truly pulsating rip through ‘And This Is What We Call Progress’, each dashed off with the ease of an ensemble that is truly finding its feet live. Speaking of those feet, one of Lasek’s is used to trigger a smoke machine at opportune moments throughout the evening, essentially gassing the front few rows of the Cargo but providing a little Hawkwind magic to accentuate their psychedelic meanderings. That’s not to say it’s not an evening without jollity, though, as the four of them happily take time to organise a photo with the support band mid-set and make jokes about Dr Funkenstein. With material in their arsenal as strong as their latest work, there is little doubt that any focus on mere banter will be short-lived – this is spectral, direct and designed to be experienced live.

Daniel Ross