To try and capture a listener with eight sprawling songs that last over four minutes is a hard thing to do. Sigur Ros kind of did it with their 2002 release, ( ). That album was merely instruments and lead singer Jon Thor Birggisson humming nonsense over ambient guitar tracks, albeit some beautiful guitar tracks.

But let’s be honest, if you’re going to make an epic, it’s got to be epic. No bullshit. This day and age, bands are calling themselves epic and don’t have a clue what that means. Those bands think epic is a long song title, a nice introduction then a story that makes no damn sense. It’s not epic. It might just be a good introduction or rock album. That’s it.

But, The Besnard Lakes’ new album, The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse: This is epic. It’s as if the band recorded in a big concert hall. From the orchestral taps of the opener “Disaster,” to the reverb gloss of “Devestation,” the album cascades in and out as if The Beach Boys teamed up with My Morning Jacket after a long night of drinking. Then after the session, the guys got Ennio Marricone to put some background touches on it.

First things first, lead singer/ multi-instrumentalist/ producer Jace Lasek hasn’t been in the limelight even though he’s been at the boards on two very important releases (Sunset Rubdown’s Shut Up I Am Dreaming and Wolf Parade’s Apologies to the Queen Mary). Whether this is music that he’s stored up over the years or just began to play, the album solidifies his talents all around the board.

Take “And You Lied to Me.” The song starts with this incomprehensible answering machine-like message then it crashes into a shaky, James Bond-like riff. It’s easily the best spy song that’s never been in a spy film. Stopping as Lasek sings, “You weren’t even who you said you were,” then driving into a solo that whirls and turns in both slow and fast motion.

That’s the thing about Are the Dark Horse. The album takes fast situations and slows it down. It’s as if the album is a soundtrack to a film that hasn’t yet been made. In “Disaster,” the lines “You’ve got disaster on your mind” repeat until the ending. But the music isn’t fast. It’s not a hardcore punk song with a singer spitting out the line over and over. It’s as if Lasek took a disastrous situation, looked outside of himself and put mid-tempo music to it. Starting with plucking strings and funereal horns, the song builds on the sound scope with a fading, distorted guitar and constant beat. During one part, a siren-like violin cuts through the noise. Maybe it’s no surprise the song is called “Disaster.” I like to imagine someone in the middle of a big car wreck or fire, and while the sirens are blaring, there’s this person in the middle slowly taking it all in.

And that’s what Are the Dark Horse does best. By making the songs intricate with horns and strings, each song feels cinematic and has an unforced grand quality about it. Unlike Sigur Ros’ ( ), The Besnard Lakes’ Are the Dark Horse is a sprawling album that captures a feel that bands attempt but never get.

While Spencer Krug’s projects — produced by Lasek — may have provided nice emotional moments in a film, Lasek and Olga Goreas are giving out a free soundtrack to any film smart enough to take it.

The Besnard Lakes Official Site
Secretly Canadian Records