Showing posts with label The Besnard Lakes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Besnard Lakes. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 9, 2023

The Besnard Lakes - She's an Icicle

 

Somehow, I totally missed that The Besnard Lakes released a three-song EP last year. The Besnard Lakes Are the Prayers For the Death of Fame EP is one of my favorite missives from the band in some time, and of its three perfect tracks, opener She's an Icicle is, to me, everything I love so much about the band: the swirling morass of guitars fx and keys, Bonham-esque beats and Jace's heavenly voice surrounded by layer upon layer of harmony, all combining to make a dirgey rock and roll ephemera. You can order this directly from the band HERE.




NCBD:

Short and sweet this week. Here we go:


I love the fact that we still haven't seen all of the fallout from the events of this year's Hellfire Gala. Man! I'm still blown away by that issue. So much changed so fast. Based on this cover, I think we're going to start really feeling things with this issue.


I wasn't going to read this issue the same way I keep saying I'm dropping Ghost Rider's main monthly book, but they keep pulling me back in. The idea that there's a new Weapon X/Weapon Plus program coming, but one that utilizes the stolen powers of Hell just blows my mind. HIGHEST of concepts; let's hope they pull it off. 
 


Brew:

I stumbled across this on Kickstarter recently (Thanks to an email from Unplugged, the beer tracking app), and I'm pretty tempted to get in on this one:


It's a lot of money, but seems like it would definitely pay for itself at some point. Or, it would just make me drink more. Hmm...




Read:

I finished Stephen Graham Jones's Don't Fear the Reaper yesterday and am happy to report I was blown right the fuck away. Talk about one-upping the original. I'm not saying Reaper is better than Chainsaw, but to be as good, with even more stakes, well, damn. Just damn. Now we just have to wait until March 26, 2024, for the final installment, The Angel of Indian Lake

Now, of course, I need something new to read and I just don't know what can follow SGJ. I've had Grady Hendrix's We Sold Our Souls in my Kindle forever, but my friend Jesus sent me a physical copy a few months ago and it's on my nightstand, so I guess that's the winner by default. 


This one comes highly recommended by a lot of people; however, for whatever reason, I've been reluctant. I LOVED Hendrix's My Best Friend's Exorcism back when I read it circa 2017, so much so that I actually bought something like half a dozen copies and sent them to a bunch of friends for their birthdays at the time. That experience left me feeling like I would read anything Hendrix wrote, then a funny thing happened. I watched Satanic Panic, which Hendrix wrote the screenplay for, and hated it so much that it turned me off instantly. If questioned, I no longer even remember what it was I disliked about that flick, and a good friend recently said he saw it and loved it, so I'm thinking if We Sold Our Souls goes over well, I may give that another go, too.




Playlist:

Jeff Buckley - Grace
Alice Donut - Dry Humping the Cash Cow Live at CBGB
Metallica - 72 Seasons
Faetooth - Remnants of the Vessel
The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes Are the Prayers For the Death of Fame EP
††† - Invisible Hand (pre-release single)
††† - PERMANENT.RADIANT EP



Card:


• Ace of Disks
• III The Empress
• Queen of Cups

Ace of Disks always reads as a monetary or 'Earthly' breakthrough, and combined with The Empressthe implied Motherly qualities of The Empress and the Emotional fortitude of the Queen of Cups, I'd say this is directly referring to my folks coming down here this weekend to house hunt. 
 


Tuesday, December 29, 2020

The Besnard Lakes - Feuds with Guns Official Music Video

 

More new Besnard that I'm trying really hard not to listen to in anticipation of sitting down with a joint and the entire new album - The Besnard Lakes Are the Last of the Great Thunderstorm Warnings, out January 19th (digital) and 29th (physical) - and just melting into the fucking music. Pre-order the record HERE.
 



Read:

I have read a lot lately. First, at the recommendation of my good friend and Christian Fisting co-founder Joe.Baxter, I fell into Lawrence Block's Matthew Scudder novels pretty hard, devouring Books one and two in about a day each. This started as research for a character I'm writing in Shadow Play Book Two, but quickly became the kind of obsessive read that forces me to relegate all Block to weekend reading only, lest I stay up all night on a work night rabidly flipping pages.



Next, I finally picked up Stephen Graham Jones' The Only Good Indians. After reading Jones's Night of the Mannequin a few months ago, I've been eager to get to this one. Halfway through in two days, it is not disappointing at all, so there will be more SGJ in my future.



Also, thanks to Jonathan Grimm, who tipped me off that Kindle was having a Marvel Masterworks sale on the entire original Chris Claremont run of Uncanny X-Men. I picked up the first five volumes, which fills in most of the gaps of what pre-dated the issues I have in physical form, including the classic Giant Size X-Men, which introduced Wolverine, Storm, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Banshee, Sunspot (fuck him, he stayed for one mission and left), and Thunderbird to the team.




Playlist:


Queens of the Stone Age - Songs for the Deaf
Bell Witch - Four Phantoms
Four Stroke Baron - Planet Silver Screen
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Eponymous
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Green River
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Bayou Country




Card:


Not about me at all, I think, but a confirmation K will be getting her promotion.

Tuesday, December 22, 2020

The Besnard Lakes Are The Last of the Great Thunderstorm Warnings

 

Just from the opening strains of the keyboard, I want to listen to this song SO BAD. I mean - new Besnard Lakes! However, I already try to adhere to very limited ingestion of advance tracks from my favorite bands' records before I can hear the track in the context of the entire album, but with this new Lakes record that's dropping on The Besnard Lakes Are The Last of the Great Thunderstorm Warnings - which according to the write-up on the band's Bandcamp is designed as one continuous cycle of songs - it's really hard. Because I want this one to wash over me as an entire expression. 

From the Bandcamp: 

"The Last of the Great Thunderstorm Warnings honors the very essence of punk rock: the notion that a band needs only be relevant to itself. At last, the Besnard Lakes have crafted a continuous long-form suite: nine tracks that could be listened together as one, like Spiritualized's Lazer Guided Melodies or even Dark Side of the Moon, overflowing with melody and harmony, drone and dazzle, the group's own unique weather."

The digital is out out January 19th, and pre-order for the GORGEOUS physical album is at the Lake's Bandcamp HERE.

Also, I'm very pleased to see the return to form on the album's title. I know the band had previously expressed concern people would get sick of the format, but I for one, love it. However, it also makes me wonder if this is the final album from the Lakes. Let's hope not.




Watch:

I watched Bea Grant's 12 Hour Shift last night. WOW! Fantastic dark comedy. Go HERE for a short, spoiler-free Letterboxd review and the trailer. This is currently a $6.99 rental on Prime and absolutely worth your hard-earned money.





Playlist:

Fleet Foxes - Shore
My Morning Jacket - Z
Michael Kiwanuka - KIWANUKA
Crippled Black Phoenix - Ellengaest
Storm Corrosion - Eponymous

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

2018: June 26th



A lot of Besnard Lakes lately. There's a certain, "Midwest Basement 90s" vibe that I need to tap into for my next big project, code-named HSL, and it requires that tone. So I'm dipping my toes in the sound of Great Lakes Rock, piecing together a short story that utilizes the same tone and generally trying to re-connect with the inner, seventeen-year-old me.

Weird.

Playlist from Monday, 6/25"
The Besnard Lakes Vol. 1
Lebanon-Hanover - Let Them Be Alien
Ice Age - Beyondless
Svvamp - 2
Ministry - Dark Side of the Spoon
NIN - Bad Witch
Faith No More - Angel Dust
Fantomas - Delirium Cordia
Flying Lotus - Los Angeles


Card for today:


From the Grimoire: "How True are you to your inner aspirations and Will? Denotes upon appearance a situation to know yourself, what you want, and throw your self doubt and fear away." I find that rather lovely. Also, as we're now apparently counting up through the Wands suit, coming on the back of Dominion yesterday, I feel as though this is more affirmation for my goals, which I continue to pursue rabidly.

Sunday, December 4, 2016

Night Jacket


I went to LA's The Echo this past Friday night to see The Bernard Lakes. They were amazing, as always. Also amazing was the band NightJacket, who played directly before them. Here's their band camp. Check it out. They're recording a new album after the first of the year and after hearing this one it's going right to the top of my 'can't wait for' list in 2017.


Tuesday, December 1, 2015

New Besnard Lakes!




Courtesy of Mr. Brown, without whom this year I probably wouldn't have heard half the new music I have. Cheers mate!

Pre-order the new album, A Coliseum Complex Museum here.




Wednesday, October 14, 2015

New Besnard Lakes!



I always love typing the three words that comprise the title of this post. Because a new record from The Besnard Lakes is a joyous thing to me and they never disappoint. Listening to this makes me reflect on what an awesome arc this band is riding, and I am as sure that I'm going to find it hard to wait until 1/22 when A Coliseum Complex Museum is released on Jagjaguwar as I'm sure it will make my top ten of next year. That's how good the Lakes are - the time for drawing up that list is still fifteen or so months away and I'm already reserving one of those year-end slots for this record.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

The Besnard Lakes Cover Fleetwood Mac



laying awake in pain I find myself going through my email - a modern necessity I have come to resent and ignore as much as is possible. Anyway, in going through said mail I'm finding a bunch of cool stuff friends have sent me. This is one of those things. Mr. Brown sent me a link to this some weeks ago and I've only just now heard it. Pretty much fell in love with it the instant it began. I've always really liked Fleetwood Mac, and this song immediately presented itself as something that sounds pretty much made for them to cover. The droning lead guitar in the last minute and a half of the song, the beach boys-like harmonies and the overall tidal wash of haunt that flows over the top of this one make it beautiful, like most 'Lakes' tracks.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

The Besnard Lakes - People of the Sticks



This band... my god. Until In Excess, Imperceptible UFO came out Tuesday. I'm a douche and still haven't had a chance to buy what should have been a "day of" pilgrimage to the record store for me.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

New Besnard Lakes Album out April 2nd, 2013



In spring of 2010 Mr. Brown sent me The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night and I immediately feel head-over-heels in love with the band. I listened to the album non-stop and made it to LA's historic Troubador to see them live (it was an amazing show and I talk about it here). Now word has come down that the band has a new record slated for release on jagjaguwar. The new album is titled "Until In Excess, Imperceptible UFO" and above is the first official audio the band has released from it.