Montreal-based duo The Besnard Lakes defy most stereotypes of a husband-wife musical team, putting out explosively intricate psych-rock as opposed to cutesy twee-pop. After three superb full-lengths, they will release their fourth – Until in Excess, Imperceptible UFO – on April 2nd. I’ve been listening to it non-stop for a few days now, with my personal highlights being the phase-friendly space-psych journey “The Spectre” – with floating vocals that recalls early ’70s Brian Wilson – and the solid “People of the Sticks”. While “The Spectre” shows The Besnard Lakes’ love for psychedelic surf-pop, “People of the Sticks” slides somewhere between Beach House’s dream-pop with its fluttering arpeggios and Low’s hypnotic slowcore. Olga Goreas’ show tremendous range here, shifting from the anesthetic lull of the gleaming verses to the whirring exhilaration of the chorus, which features pleasant melodic slabs of warm distortion. These tracks show why the heaps of praise for Until in Excess, Imperceptible UFO upon its release is imminent.
