The Besnard Lakes ( ) are a Canadian

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band from

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, Quebec, Canada. Formed in 2003 by the husband and wife team of

Jace Lasek Jace Lasek is a Canadian musician and producer living in Montreal. He and his wife Olga Goreas are the principal songwriters for the Montreal-based indie rock band The Besnard Lakes. Lasek plays guitar, bass, drums and keyboards. He is also the b ...

and Olga Goreas, the band also includes Kevin Laing (drums), Richard White (guitar), Sheenah Ko (keyboards) and Robbie MacArthur (guitar). Two of the band's six albums have been nominated for the

Polaris Music Prize The Polaris Music Prize is a music award annually given to the best full-length Canadian album based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label. The award was established in 2006 with a $20,000 cash prize; the prize was incr ...

History

Early career (2003–2013)

The band are currently a six-piece centered around the atmospheric songs of Lasek and Goreas, whose expansive sound draws from numerous aspects of rock 'n' roll history. The band's name comes from

Besnard Lake Besnard Lake ( ) is a lake in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, north of Saskatoon and west of La Ronge. It supports a large population of bald eagles that have been the subject of ongoing studies since the 1960s. The lake is from t ...

in North-Central

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

. The band's second album, ''

The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse ''The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse'' (sometimes referred to as ''...Are the Dark Horse'') is the second studio album by the Canadian rock band The Besnard Lakes, released in 2007 (see 2007 in music). The album was The Besnard Lakes' first rel ...

'' was recorded at singer Lasek's own

Breakglass Studios Breakglass Studios is a Canadian analogue and digital recording studio established in 2005. Co-founded by producer Dave Smith and Jace Lasek, the studio space is located in the Le Plateau-Mont-Royal area of Montreal, Quebec. Since its inceptio ...

, with members of

Stars A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth ma ...

The Dears The Dears are a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec. The band is led by the husband-and-wife duo of singer-guitarist Murray Lightburn and keyboardist Natalia Yanchak. History The band formed in 1995 and released their first album, ...

and

Godspeed You! Black Emperor Godspeed You! Black Emperor (sometimes abbreviated to GY!BE or Godspeed) is a Canadian post-rock band which originated in Montreal, Quebec in 1994. The group releases recordings through Constellation, an independent record label also located i ...

/ Silver Mt. Zion making guest appearances. It was nominated for the 2007 Polaris Music Prize. Many songs on ''The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse'' are prefaced by recordings from shortwave radio number stations as first made popular in recordings such as

The Conet Project ''The Conet Project: Recordings of Shortwave Numbers Stations'' is a four (later five) CD set of recordings of numbers stations and noise stations released by Redial-Discs beginning in 1997. Numbers stations are shortwave radio stations believed ...

. A third studio album, ''

The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night ''The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night'' is the third studio album by the Canadian rock band The Besnard Lakes, released in North America on March 9, 2010. The lead single, "Albatross", was released as a 12-inch single on February 9, 2010. The ...

'', was released on

Jagjaguwar Jagjaguwar is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Jagjaguwar is a label included in Secretly Group, which also includes ...

on March 9, 2010. A 12" record featuring album track "Albatross" and "Four Long Lines" was released on February 9, 2010. This album was a shortlisted nominee for the

2010 Polaris Music Prize The 2010 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 20, 2010.Sympathy for Delicious'', from actor/director

Mark Ruffalo Mark Alan Ruffalo (; born November 22, 1967) is an American actor and producer best known for playing Bruce Banner / Hulk since 2012 in the superhero franchise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and in the television series '' She-Hulk: Attorne ...

. They also wrote and performed the score for the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

web documentary ''

Welcome to Pine Point ''Welcome to Pine Point'' is a 2011 interactive web documentary by Michael Simons and Paul Shoebridge, collectively known as The Goggles, formerly creative directors of ''Adbusters'' magazine. The website explores the memories of residents from ...

''. The collaboration came about when Lasek was approached by the website's co-creator Mike Simons, an old friend from high school. The soundtrack includes their reworking of the Trooper single, "We're Here for a Good Time (Not a Long Time)". The group released their score for ''Welcome to Pine Point'' as a twelve-inch EP entitled ''You Lived in the City''. The album also features a previously unreleased outtake from their score for the film ''Memories Corner'' entitled "The Corner."

''Until in Excess, Imperceptible UFO'' (2013–2014)

A new studio album, '' Until in Excess, Imperceptible UFO'', was released in April 2013. In June the album was longlisted for the

2013 Polaris Music Prize The 2013 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 23, 2013

. In 2014, guitarist Richard White removed himself from the band's touring line-up. A message on the band's official website stated, "After seven years, our beloved guitar player Richard White has decided not to tour anymore. You can still expect to hear his virtuosic playing on our albums. but sadly, you will not see him on stage with us much anymore. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank Richard from the bottom of our hearts for all the dedicated years of performing with us." Following White's live departure, guitarist Robbie MacArthur, a member of

The High Dials The High Dials are a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The band started out playing a brand of pop music strongly influenced by 1960s British mod styles, but their sound has broadened to incorporate power pop, psychedeli ...

, joined the band's touring line-up, alongside keyboardist Sheenah Ko.

''A Coliseum Complex Museum'' and ''The Divine Wind'' (2015–2019)

Following the completion of the ''Until in Excess, Imperceptible UFO'' tour, both Ko and MacArthur joined the band's full line-up. The six-piece began work on its fifth studio album, '' A Coliseum Complex Museum''. The release was preceded in late 2015 by an EP entitled ''The Golden Lion''. In 2017, the band released an EP, called ''The Besnard Lakes Are the Divine Wind''.

''The Last of the Great Thunderstorm Warnings'' (2020–present)

After a lengthy hiatus, the band released its sixth studio album, '' The Besnard Lakes Are the Last of the Great Thunderstorm Warnings'' in January, 2021. A twenty-seven minute long EP, entitled ''The Besnard Lakes Are the Prayers for the Death of Fame'', was released in October 2022 on

Full Time Hobby Full Time Hobby is an independent record label formed in London in January 2004. Since its inception it has released records by artists such as Dana Gavanski, Timber Timbre, Tunng, Micah P. Hinson, Michael Nau, Katie Von Schleicher and Whit ...

Discography

Albums

*'' Volume 1'' (2003) *''

'' (2007) *''

'' (2010) *'' Until in Excess, Imperceptible UFO'' (2013) *'' A Coliseum Complex Museum'' (2016) *'' The Besnard Lakes Are the Last of the Great Thunderstorm Warnings'' (2021)

EPs

*''You Lived in the City'' (2011) *''The Golden Lion'' (2015) *''The Besnard Lakes Are the Divine Wind'' (2017) *''The Besnard Lakes Are the Prayers for the Death of Fame'' (2022)

Singles

*"Would Anybody Come to Visit Me" (10", Static Caravan, 2005) *"Casino Nanaimo" (12", Jagjaguwar, 2007) *"For Agent 13" (2007) *"Albatross" (12", Jagjaguwar, 2010) *"People of the Sticks" (Jagjaguwar, 2013) *"Raindrops" (2020) *"Our Heads, Our Hearts on Fire Again" (2020)

Notes

* *

References

External links

Official websiteNFB short film featuring The Besnard Lakes, ''Because Tonight''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Besnard Lakes, The Canadian indie rock groups Canadian film score composers English-language musical groups from Quebec Jagjaguwar artists Musical groups established in 2003 Musical groups from Montreal 2003 establishments in Quebec