As a frequent commuter on the Metra and L trains, it's easy to get lost in a song called "Chicago Train" by The Besnard Lakes.
On the Canadian group's third album, The Besnard Lakes Are The Roaring Night, "Chicago Train" dances the old line between light and shade. Building around a collection of ambient orchestral sounds, the song's introduction lays out the first section of the song.
The vocal echoes through the fog of strings and French horns, almost like a distant lighthouse. Singer/songwriter Jace Lasek's spy-theme has provided new avenues for the group to explore since he first presented the ideas on the second album, The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse. The lines "Always a long way/I'd watch you all night/Always for all day/I'd wait" give the song its set of eyes, hiding in the shadows.
The song's crescendo comes at the halfway as the strings step aside to the steady stomp of drums and electric guitar. Knowing Lasek's interest in spies, this second half plays as a response to the first half. Here is the song's second spy still on the hunt for the primary target and lurking around the "last train to Chicago."
A mix of mood and tone play off one another to very good effect in "Chicago Train". This is existence by obsession; one identity needing to be defined by the other and vice versa. The Besnard Lakes craft a world within "Chicago Train" that has feet to stand on even if the spy-theme was removed from song's backstory.
Filed under: ChicagoNow blogs
Tags: Besnard Lakes, Canadian, chicago, indie, L train, Metra, music, Quebec, The Besnard Lakes, The Roaring Night
