THE BESNARD LAKES - Are The Roaring Night

The arrival of The Besnard Lakes with their 2007 leftfield hit ...Are The Dark Horse was one of that year's more pleasant surprises. Brimming with a heady cocktail of Beach Boys harmonies, Pink Floyd cinematics and stoner rock wallop, it was an album so aptly named, you'd be forgiven for believing that husband-and-wife bandleaders Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas had a crystal ball stashed away somewhere. And while there's no evidence of that, they do own a studio (Break Glass in Montreal), an asset that no doubt gave them ample time to perfectly craft Dark Horse's mollases-rich layers of voice and guitar. But following a coming-out party like that, what does one do for an encore?

If another shocking card is hiding up the sleeves of either of these two, it's one that they're clearly saving for another record. That's not to say that ...Are The Roaring Night is a poor effort—it ain't. But as the similarly-voiced title would suggest, this is a Part Deux—a follow-up to its predecessor, only with a little more oomph. The Lakes spent the tour for Horse evolving into a devastatingly powerful live presence, and it shows on Night. The album still retains much of the tranquility and patience of their sound, but—in the slightest of ways—the band is not as much on its back heels this time out. It's not heavier so much as it's more forward-minded, more pop.

Certainly, people skeptical of the group before will see little reason to change their tune, but that's okay—The Besnard Lakes are more than confident enough to realize that a winning combination of influences and execution such as this is in no need of changing either. One of the better and more personal takes of this era's updating of the shoegazer approach, this band appears here to stay. Bring on the night.