Montreal, Québec’s The Besnard Lakes have returned with a massive, yet not too heavy album, that, like its predecesors, has a cryptic title. This one is The Besnard Lakes Are the Last of the Great Thunderstorm Warnings. What is this thunderstorm of which they wish to warn us? It’s the storm we all must face – death.
Written over the course of 2019, when COVID-19 was emerging, claiming lives, canceling plans, and changing the world by forcing all of us to look impermanence square in the face, the album is a stunning piece of work. It’s even more impressive when you consider that frontman Jace Lasek‘s father also died the same year. Processing his grief, and visions his father spoke about on his deathbed, led to Lasek confronting the Grim Reaper head-on. The band also paid tribute to two legendary musicians and songwriters – Mark Hollis (who also died in 2019) and Prince (who had died three years earlier).
The album’s four sides are titled “Near Death,” “Death,” “After Death,” and “Life.” It is an album of sadness, grief, love, and peace. The opening track, “Blackstrap,” brings Pink Floyd‘s Dark Side of the Moon to mind with its echoing guitars and sampled telephone busy signal. The title might refer to a type of molasses, and how sadness might feel like being stuck in it. The song crawls along like an old but happy cat with its thumping bass and psychedelic synths.
“Raindrops” has the kind of cool bass groove that only Olga Goreas seems to be able to create, and Lasek’s vocals move back and forth between dreamy simplicity and falsetto flashes that he seems to do with ease. The warped, distorted “Christmas Can Wait” is one of the tracks honoring Lasek’s late father. The song melts and reforms into a mix of psych and synthwave that is so good that it’s almost unbelievable.
“Our Heads, Our Hearts on Fire Again” brings brightness breaking through the clouds with vocal styling that reminds me of The New Pornographers, a string section, a brass section, and possibly a Venusian choir for all I know. It’s a tonal shift on the album, and a brilliant one (on an album that’s already brilliant up to this point).
“Feuds with Guns” is the shortest track on the album at a little over four minutes, but it doesn’t feel any less expansive. The organ and drums seem to rise up from a desert canyon, and Lasek’s vocals seems to glide down with a setting sun. “The Dark Side of Paradise” again brings Pink Floyd to mind, but adds shoegaze elements to the psychedelia for a trippy brew. Lasek’s vocals sometimes disappear into the synths and guitars, blurring the line between which shadows the other until the song transforms into a beautiful instrumental.
“New Revolution” breaks through the pallor of death with bright guitars, healthy heartbeat drums, and vocals brimming with hope and joy. “The Father of Time Wakes Up” in the band’s tribute to Prince. It’s a lovely one that doesn’t overdo it with wild guitar solos or funk jams. It keeps the psychedelic riffs and hypnotizing bass and uses a simple, but effective guitar solo as Lasek sings, “You’ve been hurting since the father of time woke up.” (and moved onto another plane). Haven’t we all? The chorus of “With love, there is no time.” is a wonderful reminder of a universal truth that is easy to forget.
“Last of the Great Thunderstorm Warnings” takes up the entire fourth side of the album. It’s a glorious track of nearly eighteen minutes with The Besnard Lakes helping us get up from the ground, to walk out of the dark, and to let go of attachments so we won’t be dragged by them. The horn section returns and drums blend with real thunder to bring a cleansing sound. The song drifts into the sounds of wind and simple synths to become a meditative experience (doubly so, as I discovered, if you play it while next to an open window and birdsong naturally blends with it).
It’s a gorgeous record by a band operating at the height of their powers, and an uplifting album as we emerge from a pandemic and a divisive election (here in the U.S., at least), and strive to move forward from anger and fear.
Keep your mind open.
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