The Besnard Lakes – Are the Dark Horse

The second full length from The Besnard Lakes comes in a close second on my best of 2007 so far. Bandleader Jace Lasek produced two of the best albums in recent years, Wolf Parade’s Apologies to the Queen Mary and Sunset Rubdown’s Shut Up I Am Dreaming. He now takes on songwriting, singing, and guitar duties on Are the Dark Horse with stunning effect.

The album combines the haze of Spiritualized, the harmonies of Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys, and the psychedelic excursions of early Pink Floyd. The album clocks in at a mere 45 minutes but somehow still manages to sound spacey, interstellar and epic.