The Besnard Lakes - ...Are the Dark Horse

Today's post is one of my favourite albums of last year. The Besnard Lakes are another fantastic band from Canada, and The Besnard Lakes are the Dark Horse is their second record.

It's an incredible piece of work. Like so many bands, they are often cited as being influenced by the Beach Boys. This is mainly because they make use of the harmonies and falsetto vocals Brian Wilson employed. Let's make it clear, sun-drenched pop this ain't. One look at the song titles tells you that (Disaster, Devastation etc).

The album is at it's best when the layers of sound pile up, particularly on the aforementioned Devastation. It's probably not an album you're likely to listen to every single day, but it's a rewarding listen which should definitely be in any serious music fan's collection.

Download: The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes are the Dark Horse