who is the dark horse?

The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes are the Dark Horse

I have this thing for paradox. I'm strangely attracted to things that are "both at the same time." Sometime I'll blog about Patty Hearst. What I love about this album is that it is both intimate and ambitious. The songs are big, dark, even orchestral at times, but they never fall into the trap of messy sound or lost lyric. Everything is intentional. The Beach Boys style harmonies on "Disaster" somehow fit beside the reverb and walky-talky sound effects on "And You Lied to Me." This album is telescopic--there is this distance that can't be travelled, but they're trying to look closely anyway.

The Besnard Lakes - Because Tonight
The Besnard Lakes - Disaster

*This album did make the Polaris Prize's Shortlist.
*Besnard Lake in real-life is in northern Saskatchewan, FYI.