The Besnard Lakes Are The Ghost Nation

On their new album The Besnard Lakes are the Ghost Nation, Montreal's The Besnard Lakes return with their same melodic yet mountainous sound world; the keening, lilting vocals of Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas foregrounded, but this time around, there is a lightness and optimism at play. Perhaps a somewhat disingenuous sense of hope, in a world where it is currently often in short supply. "I feel like it's a very formidable title, symbolic of the times," says Jace. "It's talking about the death of nations, the threat of Canada being the 51st state. There is the desire to be left alone, to let community be community, all of those things that feel like they might be under siege; that's what the ghost nation is." Lyrically, it considers the history of human progress: "It's always been something in my mind; are we evolving, or are we devolving as a society? As much as we move forward, have we forgotten the things that are important because we've moved forward so fast?". Although there is a sense and acknowledgement of the wider world, the band do not look at it as a 'political' album: "We definitely try to keep our politics out of our music, and although this is probably slightly more present, it's still obscure in that we try to keep our lyrics fairly ambiguous". A good example of this is the dazed, soothing 'Chemin de la Baie'. Underpinned by a wonky arpeggio, the surging chorus is perhaps the most 'pop' they have ever been, again channeling that inbuilt confidence, imploring us to "Hold those thoughts and run away". In a crowded leaderboard of their own making, The Besnard Lakes are the Ghost Nation might just be their best album yet; a strive for hope when it is needed most.