The Besnard Lakes return with their seventh album The Besnard Lakes Are the Ghost Nation. In doing so confirming their status as one of the most peerlessly consistent bands over the 20 years plus of their existence – with a purity of vision and level of quality that is hard to rival in modern music.
“I feel like it’s a very formidable title, symbolic of the times,” says co-singer Jace Lasek. “It’s talking about the death of nations, the threat of Canada being the 51st state. There is the desire to be left alone, to let community be community, all of those things that feel like they might be under siege; that’s what the ghost nation is.”
The band confirms this was partly in response to their last album, 2021’s The Besnard Lakes Are the Last of the Great Thunderstorm Warnings. “The last record was so heavy,” reflects Jace. “There was so much weight and heavy themes, like my dad dying. It was just death everywhere on that record. This album doesn’t really seem to be that.
To me, it seems very playful.” They gathered in a gorgeous barn at Lost River Studios, deep in the woods of the Laurentians, to record the album. Spending 5 days compiling, experimenting and experiencing the creative solitude in the woods with some of the band’s family members there. The result is a playful yet thoughtful and heartfelt collection of psychedelic sounds and experiences, which was mixed by Lasek at the Rigaud Ranch Studio. On new single ‘Give Us Our Dominion’ co-singer Olga Goreas states: “It’s a melody that was circulating in Jace’s mind for many years.
Unable to let it go, Jace sat with it and finally brought it to light. Written in a dropped D tuning, In Hollywood is atypical in the Besnard canon. Some very creative synth work from Sheenah in the outro. A beautifully bizarre guitar solo from Gabriel. This one shows off Jace’s vocal stylings and has an intriguing lyrical journey for the listener to discover.” The Besnard Lakes Are the Ghost Nation is another fascinating trip and it might just be their best album yet; a strive for hope when it is needed most.
Tracklist
1. Calling Ghostly Nations
2. Chemin de la Baie
3. Carried It All Around
4. In Hollywood
5. Pontiac Spirits
6. Battle Lines
7. The Clouds are Casting Shadows from the Sunlight
8. Gives Us Our Dominion
After the release of their new album ‘Fear of Emotion’, which features collaborations with James Morrison, KT Tunstall…
Power metal warriors WARKINGS celebrate their energetic shows with a new single: their cover of “Live is Life” honors…
The release of Lauren Wallace's single Gap Teeth in February, saw great radio support across Ireland, a…
After more than 30 years of making music to widespread critical acclaim, Merseyside hero Ian…
London indie pop four-piece daydreamers are on the brink of announcing their biggest project to date. The…
Acclaimed alt-rock band Against the Current shares “Dead Man Walking,” the explosive second single from their upcoming album. In…