The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse

The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse
Studio album by The Besnard Lakes
Released	February 20, 2007
Recorded	Breakglass Studio (Montreal, Canada)
Genre	Post-rock Psychedelic rock Indie rock Shoegaze
Length	45:26
Label	Jagjaguwar (U.S.) Outside Music (Canada)
Producer	Jace Lasek, Olga Goreas
The Besnard Lakes chronology
Volume 1 (2003) The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse (2007) The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night (2010)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	83/100 [1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Drowned in Sound	9/10 [3]
musicOMH	[4]
Now	[5]
Pitchfork	8.2/10 [6]
Q	[7]
Spin	[8]
Stylus	B+ [9]
Uncut	[10]
Under the Radar	9/10 [11]

The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse (sometimes referred to as ...Are the Dark Horse) is the second studio album by the Canadian rock band The Besnard Lakes, ^[12] released in 2007 (see 2007 in music). The album was The Besnard Lakes' first release on indie label Jagjaguwar and was self-produced by bandleaders Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas. It was nominated for the 2007 Polaris Music Prize.

Track listing

All songs written by Olga Goreas, Jace Lasek, and Nicole Lizee.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Disaster"	5:42
2.	"For Agent 13"	5:12
3.	"And You Lied to Me"	7:20
4.	"Devastation"	5:50
5.	"Because Tonight"	7:11
6.	"Rides the Rails"	4:56
7.	"On Bedford and Grand"	5:06
8.	"Cedric's War"	4:05

Personnel

The Besnard Lakes

• Olga Goreas – vocals (except on "Disaster"), bass (except on "Disaster"), drums, organ, synthesizer, glockenspiel
• Jace Lasek – vocals (except on "Devastation"), guitar (except on "Devastation"), organ (on "For Agent 13", "And You Lied to Me", "Because Tonight", "Rides the Rails"), drums, piano, Rhodes, synthesizer, lap steel guitar, tambourine
• Kevin Laing – drums (on "And You Lied to Me", "Devastation", "Cedric's War")
• Nicole Lizée – string, horn, flute, and saxophone arrangements (on "Disaster", "Because Tonight", "Rides the Rails"), Rhodes (on "And You Lied to Me", "On Bedford and Grant"), bass, synthesizer
• Steve Raegele – vocals (on "Rides the Rails"), guitar (on "And You Lied to Me", "Devastation")

Additional personnel

• Heather Schnarr – violin (on "Disaster", "Because Tonight", "Rides the Rails")
• Sophie Trudeau – violin (on "Disaster", "Rides the Rails")
• Chris Seligman – French horn (on "Disaster", "Rides the Rails")
• Billy Boufford – flute (on "Disaster", "Rides the Rails"), soprano saxophone (on "Disaster", "Rides the Rails")
• Jonathan Cummins – guitar (on "And You Lied to Me", "Devastation")
• Eric LaRock – bass (on "Devastation")
• Jerimiah Bullied – guitar (on "Devastation")
• George Donoso III – drums (on "Devastation")
• Jean-Paul Perron – drums (on "Devastation")
• The Fifth String Liberation Singers Choir – vocals (on "Devastation")

References

1. "Reviews for The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse by The Besnard Lakes". Metacritic . Retrieved May 2, 2025.
2. McClintock, J. Scott (February 20, 2007). "The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse - The Besnard Lakes". AllMusic . Retrieved May 2, 2025.
3. Dowling, Jordan (19 February 2007). "The Besnard Lakes: The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse". Drowned in Sound . Retrieved 2 May 2025.
4. Jex, Andy (19 February 2007). "The Besnard Lakes – The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse". musicOMH . Retrieved 2 May 2025.
5. Liss, Sarah (February 28, 2007). "THE BESNARD LAKES - Are The Dark Horse". Now . Retrieved May 2, 2025.
6. Berman, Stuart (February 20, 2007). "Are the Dark Horse - The Besnard Lakes". Pitchfork . Retrieved May 2, 2025.
7. Intriguing, unpredictable and far from ordinary. [Mar 2007, p.110]
8. Rarely has dispiritedness sounded so uplifting. [Mar 2007, p.88]
9. Miller, Derek (February 20, 2007). "The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse". Stylus Magazine . Retrieved May 2, 2025.
10. An amazing album. [Mar 2007, p.75]
11. Their overarching fingernail-meets-chalkboard eeriness... is what prevents a lapse into the preciousness that sometimes accompanies orchestrated indie rock, making the album a rousing success. [#16, p.90]
12. McClintock, J. Scott. "( The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse > Overview )". Allmusic . Retrieved 2008-10-28.