In Defense Of Beach House...

So this post was inspired by a great tweet from GW in DC, grumping about not 'getting' certain new music. I caught it on a long drive, and filed it away, laughing because pretty much 3/4 of what i listen to doesn't pass muster w/my peers, and that's ok, I'm totally used to it. His other case in point, (Sleigh Bells), i totally agree with, and just file under 'Of Montreal' in terms of ambition overstepping execution.

But it stuck with me, and now i'll spit it out, not that Beach House need any defending, (let alone from me...).

The dream pop duo from Baltimore has truly come into their own this year, backing up the haunting 'Teen Dream' with extensive touring.

The quick, tongue in cheek answers that jumped to mind were:
1) drug music for people who don't do drugs anymore
2) best white 'boudoir' album since Roxy Music's 'Avalon'
3) very definition of 'grower', a song cycle in an age weighted against the very existence of albums with melodies like tentacles...

I was wary before its release, heralded by a wave of internet hype...call it the 'Animal Collective' response, but anything paraded as the record of the year before it's released, or two weeks into the new year, is just not cool.
After buying it, i dug the first few listens, but didn't really connect until catching it on the back leg of my commute, sick and feverish and shivering through a long drive home. Cranked up to the point of pain, it was like being immersed in a giant bath of Benadryl...
And with all the good stuff that's come out this year, I still find myself going back to it, now almost halfway through the year...simply put, it fits my definition of a great record, which has nothing to do with genre, speed, beat, or really anything...It just Makes Things Better.


(thx to Gordon in DC for putting up w/me...)

Taking Flight With The Besnard Lakes...

BESNARD LAKES, TROUBADOR 13 MAY 2010

So for some reason, I had never, in all my time on this coast, darkened the doorstep of Doug Weston's inimitable Troubador, in West Hollywood. First time for everything, and parking shenanigans aside, it was certainly memorable.

The occasion was the west coast swing of Montreal's own The Besnard Lakes, touring their latest record 'The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night', a followup as aptly named as the previous 'The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse'. They certainly were, and the difference between the two is palpable.





While '...Dark Horse' made a fine case for the Lakes as The overlooked Canadian band of the moment, 'Roaring Night' at once deepens the craft of the songs with delicately interlocked suites of songs, but strips and tightens the individual arrangements to great effect. Throw in the prevailing espionage concept lyrically, and it's already on my year end short list of records.






As good as the record is, I was unprepared for the absolute lift off of the songs live, with the ultimate end being somewhere between Sigur Ros and My Bloody Valentine. They feared not the noise, channeling it as surely as any other instrument. They were loose and fun onstage, holding together 'And You Lied To Me' through unsoliticed crowd participation, and dusting away the dour image one might take away from their records by inserting a touch of hair metal legends 'Honeymoon Suite' into the top of their encore.

('Chicago Train' above...fog machine: check!)

The most memorable shows, i've noticed over the years, have a downright religious patina...After the show, even with my day pushing the 24 hour mark, i was still totally wired. No greater praise can i give.

(incandescent version of 'Glass Printer' below)