Pitchfork

Photo by Eirik Lande

If you thought the sprawling springtime gem The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse (by the, y'know, Besnard Lakes) was a debut album (like I did, until mere minutes ago), well, we could both benefit from some reading comprehension exercises. Truth be told, they didn't harness that kinda power right out of the gate: No, they have a much sought-after but rarely heard debut, appropriately titled Volume 1, just waiting to be reissued and rediscovered. And, hey, lookee here: It's going down October 23 on Jagjaguwar. Imagine that!

Initially released in 2004, Volume 1 was recorded in full by young marrieds Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas at Breakglass, the studio they jointly own 'til death do them part.

Besides rummaging through the archives, the Besnard Lakes have a busy fall ahead; they're preparing their best bib and tucker for the Polaris Prize ceremony, they've got a new 12" coming out in September, and they're out now on what's shaping up to be a sizable tour.

Volume 1:

01 Skyscraper Girls
02 This Thing
03 For Spy Turned Musician
04 Thomasina
05 You've Got to Want to Be a Star
06 Deep, Desultory Dream
07 Life Rarely Begins with Tungsten Film #1

Besnard Dates:

08-13 Utrecht, Holland - Ekko
08-14 Rotterdam, Holland - Rotown
08-16 Saint Malo, France - La Route du Rock Festival
08-17 Hasselt, Belgium - Pukkelpop Festival
09-09 Montreal, Quebec - Osheaga
09-13 St. Louis, MO - The Biliken Club
09-14 Ames, IA - The Maintenance Shop
09-15 Omaha, NE - Slowdown
09-17 Denver, CO - Hi-Dive *
09-19 Tucson, AZ - Club Congress
09-20 Phoenix, AZ - Modified
09-21 Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour
09-22 Visalia, CA - The Cellar Door
09-23 San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill
09-25 Portland, OR - The Doug Fir Lounge
09-26 Seattle, WA - Nectar
09-27 Vancouver, British Columbia - Richard's on Richards
09-28 Victoria, British Columbia - Lucky Bar
09-29 Tofino, British Columbia - Legion
09-30 Whistler, British Columbia - TBD
10-02 Kelowna, British Columbia - Habitat
10-03 Edmonton, Alberta - Starlite Room
10-04 Calgary, Alberta - Broken City
10-05 Regina, Saskatchewan - O'Hanlon's
10-06 Winnipeg, Manitoba - West End Cultural Centre

* with Maserati