Randor's Song of the Week: 02.21.10

"Rides the Rails" by The Besnard Lakes from the album The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse. 2007.
    The deeper I delve into obscurity, the harder it is to find a decent version of the song to listen to on the web. The quality of the song is very good here, but ignore the unrelated slideshow.
    Anyhow, I've been meaning to feature this song for some time. It's very peaceful, with sleepy harmonies in a dreamlike setting. The intensity is not derived from tempo or volume, nor really the lyrics per say. Looking flatly at the words on "paper", in fact, it looks to be a short song. Instead, the 5-minute number relies on heavy chords bridged between vocals and instruments. A wide variety of those are featured, if my ears deceive me not. Besides the standard bass, guitar, and drum set-up, my ears can pick out a violin, french horn, and perhaps flute. With all of the overlaying on this tune, there's likely many more instruments of both the brass and string variety though. Each part finds its arrangement superb, and they fit together triumphantly.
    I can't say I'm too familiar with the band's other work, but I have been meaning to check out more. In March, they'll release a new album entitled The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night. Besides what I read from elsewhere, I cannot say much more about their other work. The band itself is Canadian, if that interests you. And, apparently, they will score the upcoming film Sympathy for Delicious, not that I've heard of it. Heh, you can read all of that on Wikipedia anyhow. As for the music, well... I like this song very much, and if it exemplifies the band, then they happen to be very talented and well worth the listen.