The Besnard Lakes

The Besnard Lakes
The Besnard Lakes. (Left to right: Kevin Laing, Richard White, Jace Lasek, Olga Goreas)
Background information
Origin	Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Genres	Indie rock, shoegaze, post-rock, new prog
Years active	2003 (2003)–present
Labels	Jagjaguwar Outside Music Static Caravan
Website	www.thebesnardlakes.com
Members	Jace Lasek Olga Goreas Kevin Laing Richard White Sheenah Ko Robbie MacArthur
Past members	Steve Raegele Jeremiah Bullied Nicole Lizée

The Besnard Lakes are a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Formed in 2003 by the husband and wife team of Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas, the band also includes Kevin Laing (drums), Richard White (guitar), Sheenah Ko (keyboards) and Robbie MacArthur (guitar).

Two of the band's five albums have been nominated for the Polaris Music Prize.

The band are currently a six-piece centered around the atmospheric songs of Lasek and Goreas, whose expansive sound draws from numerous aspects of rock 'n' roll history. The band's name comes from Besnard Lake in North-Central Saskatchewan. The band's second album, The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse was recorded at singer Lasek's own Breakglass Studios, with members of Stars, The Dears and Godspeed You! Black Emperor/Silver Mt. Zion making guest appearances. It was nominated for the 2007 Polaris Music Prize. Many songs on The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse are prefaced by recordings from shortwave radio number stations as first made popular in recordings such as The Conet Project.

A third studio album, The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night, was released on Jagjaguwar on March 9, 2010. A 12" record featuring album track "Albatross" and "Four Long Lines" was released on February 9, 2010. This album was a shortlisted nominee for the 2010 Polaris Music Prize.