the besnard lakes

Fense’s Radio Show: May 10, 2013

Andy Fenstermaker
May 13, 2013May 5, 2023

I’ve been getting into several new albums of late, and when that happens, I often want to play several songs from the same band on my radio show. I restrained myself, narrowing it down to a pair each; that’s the theme of tonight’s show – doubles. I’ll be playing back-to-back tracks from each artist I play tonight, including new stuff by The Besnard Lakes, Wolf People, King Tuff, and Arrington de Dionyso’s Malaikat dan Singa. We begin, however, with a band I originally covered way back in 2010: Young Hunting.

Darci Larsen
February 5, 2010February 5, 2010

I would love to re-experience those four minutes during which I listened for the first time to “Albatross”, the new Besnard Lakes single. Filled with dreamy layers of vocals and lush, guitar-backed chorales, Olga Groreas sings to the very moment of disappearing love amidst a background of sound that evokes anything but sadness. Read More »The Besnard Lakes: Albatross [mp3]

A Retrospective Top 33 and 1/3: Best Albums of 2007

Andy Fenstermaker
December 18, 2009May 13, 2023

Let me tell you a story. In 2007 some notable things happened. I attended the annual music festival SXSW (the image above is of myself and The Lovely Sparrows’ Shawn Jones, taken by Abandoned Love Records/Virgin Of The Birds’ Jon Rooney), I grew a mustache, and I met a beautiful girl named Andi at the Capitol Hill Block Party. We hit it off and ditched the after-party to get a sprite (her) and coffee (me) at Denny’s in Ballard (sadly no longer there) at 1:30am. I still have the mustache and I’m still dating Andi. A lot of pretty notable things happened that year, and a lot of great releases came out…

Andy Fenstermaker
August 23, 2009

The Besnard Lakes seem to have taken everyone by surprise; their music blends drone-y shoegaze and prog-rock with the playfulness of lightly orchestrated indie-pop. These elements make Are The Dark Horse one of the best comprehensive albums of 2007. Songs like â€œBecause Tonightâ€ are instantly classic in natureâ€”The Besnard Lakesâ€™ ability to dictate between sophisticated and precise string arrangements, and drone-heavy prog-rock give them an edge in a somewhat polluted independent music scene. Read More »The Besnard Lakes: Are The Dark Horse [Album Review]