The Besnard Lakes – Cargo, London 31/03/10

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Photographs by Valerio Berdini

It’s been several years since The Besnard Lakes last played London, but it’s oddly heartening that Jace Lasek still styles himself like the lovechild of Noddy Holder and Les McQueen from “The League of Gentleman”. The Montreal quartet don’t profess to be the coolest band on Earth- and wisely so, given their deep musical debts to Fleetwood Mac and ELO- but they’re an unusually likable bunch. They’ve got an obvious sense of camaderie that many bands lack. They’re self-depreciating and witty- guitarist Kevin Laing‘s quip that support band Wolf People “looked like a Mojo time-line of Eric Clapton‘s career“ was superb. It’s just a shame their musical output isn’t always as engaging as they are.

Like the new album, the gig has moments of excellence- the woozy majesty of ‘Albatross’ and old favourite “Disaster” both utilise their effects-laden distortion fantastically. But it’s also disappointingly patchy, with some new tracks coming across as insubstantial and underdeveloped, or too in hock to their late-60’s/early 70’s influences to stand out in their own right. What’s more, these flaws are accentuated by the band’s tendency to elongate songs way beyond the five minute mark. Whilst Lasek’s powerful falsetto holds up for the most part, his wife Olga Goreas finds her vocals subsumed under the heavy guitar fuzz, resulting in much-diminished harmonies- this particularly affects the beautiful ‘Chicago Train’, whose delicate, gorgeous charm is entirely neutered tonight. It’s a real shame, as much of the show is perfectly enjoyable, but the scarcity of standout moments is frustrating given the talents of all involved. The Besnard Lakes may be A Dark Horse, but they’ve still got some way to go before becoming genuine contenders.