#12 The Besnard Lakes – The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse: Best Debut Album of the Year

Though not Montreal husband-and-wife duo The Besnard Lakes’ official debut record, having produced a limited print (a meager 1,000 copies), self-released album back in ‘03 called Volume 1, their semi-self-titled follow-up The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse is their first effort on the ever-trustworthy Jagjaguwar label, which circulated their expansive chamber rock on a mass scale. Boasting my favorite opening seconds from all of ‘07 with “Disaster,” Jace Lasek’s crisply tender coo carries the opening notes of a classical guitar before slowly introducing a lingering violin, then building to a dramatic crescendo that will become the trademark for every one of the seven gorgeous symphonies to come. Shrugged off as self-indulgent and languid, Johnny-come-lately shoegaze by some, Dark Horse is very much reminiscent of Jónsi Birgisson’s entrancing falsetto, but ingrained with meticulous form – the couple were able to make extended visits to Breakglass Studio where Lasek has been a sought-after producer for Canadian acts like Wolf Parade and Sunset Rubdown – that shifts from fragile vocal harmonies and concert hall arrangements to gravelly guitar tones and chugging drums that take their time to achieve Dark Horse’s lofty mood, yes, but which can hardly be labeled as listless. The album’s finest track, “Devastation,” serves as its centerpiece that comes the closest to the choir-like hymns of oft-compared, wrongly matched counterparts Arcade Fire, but evokes more the space-rock anthems of labelmates Black Mountain, but without their vintage leanings and wry humor – for sure, the Besnard Lakes are a strictly serious affair. Just listen to the crunchy strings vibrato of follow-up “Because Tonight” that extends to slightly more than seven minutes, or the Animal Rights-esque guitar solos on the equally long “And You Lied To Me.” That’s not to say Dark Horse doesn’t search for its lighter moments with the buoyant bass line that introduces “Ride The Rails” and fluttering rhythm guitar throughout “On Bedford and Grand” or drum cadence on closer “Cedric’s War” that both strike Beach Boys parallels – especially the jovial half-chuckle that echoes off the walls in between verses in the song’s first half. Whatever musical intimations you might read into this album, though, The Besnard Lakes are more than just throwback laundry; stamping music this resonant is just asking to miss out on something.