The Besnard Lakes "...Are The Dark Horse"

Mother. Fuck. I'm as happy as a infant in a womb right now. Blissfully unaware of anything outside, and I don't really want to leave anytime soon. The Besnard Lakes. The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse. The Besnard Lakes are the best goddamn music, is more like it. The Besnard Lakes are a six-piece outfit from Montreal, yes THAT Montreal. The one that spawned Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown, Broken Social Scene, Stars, Godspeed You! Black Emperor and A Silver Mt. Zion, and on, and on. And oddly enough, TBL have connections to most of these bands. Husband and wife team, Jace Lasek & Olga Goreas head up the band and also happen to run Breakglass Studios, where Wolf Parade, Islands & Sunset Rubdown lay their tracks down. Meanwhile, members of Stars and Godspeed/Silver Mt. Zion make appearances on the album, "...Are The Dark Horse". Whew. This may be contender for album of the year, kids. Soaring vocal harmonies, a-la The Beach Boys..atmospheric & epic. Psyche-rock not unlike Pink Floyd, with heart-pounding rhythms and soul-numbing guitar work. You just want to hit the rewind button over and over and over...if there still was a rewind button. This music will work anywhere, but it's home is in the headphones.

The Besnard Lakes "...Are The Dark Horse" - Out now on Jagjaguar.

The Besnard Lakes "For Agent 13" - MP3 (via box.net)

Ben Gibbard Announces Small Solo Tour w/ David Bazan (Pedro The Lion)

Death Cab For Cutie frontman, Ben Gibbard has announced a small solo tour. He will be appearing sans Cab, For & Cutie. Along for the ride is ex-Pedro The Lion frontman, David Bazan, and Jonathan Rice. Tickets for most dates go sale this weekend, both on Friday and Saturday (3/1 & 3/2). I'm pretty psyched to see him in an intimate, acoustic setting... especially since they got all high fa-lootin' (cough..O.C...cough). And as much as I want to see Ben, David Bazan is the real selling point for me...sorry Ben.

Tour dates:
05-03 Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
05-04 Chicago, IL - Metro
05-05 Detroit, MI - Majestic Theatre
05-07 Somerville, MA - Somerville Theatre
05-08 New York, NY - Town Hall
05-09 Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts
05-10 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
05-11 Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
05-12 Atlanta, GA - Center Stage
05-13 Nashville, TN - City Hall
05-14 Dallas, TX - Granada Theater
05-15 Austin, TX - Emo's
05-17 Los Angeles, CA - Royce Hall
05-18 San Francisco, CA - Fillmore
05-19 Portland, OR - Roseland Theater
05-20 Seattle, WA - Showbox

Update: Tickets for the Atlanta show go sale this Friday (3/2), $19 through Ticketmaster.