Some of its songs are old, resurrected from demos cast aside years ago. Others were literally woodshedded in the cabin behind band members Jace Lasek and Olga Goreas's Rigaud Ranch - invented and reinvented, relishing this rougher sound.
Some of that distortion makes its way into the final mix: an incandescent crackle that had receded from the Besnard'' more recent output.
Contemplating the darkness of dying and the light on the other side, this is a double LP.
Near Death is the title of the first side. Death, After Death, & Life follow next.
It's a journey into (and back from) the brink: the story of the Besnard Lakes' own odyssey but also a remembrance of others', especially the death of Lasek's father in 2019.
Being on your deathbed is perhaps the most psychedelic trip you can go on: in Lasek's father's case, he surfaced from a morphine dream to talk about "a window" on his blanket, with "a carpenter inside, making intricate objects." That experience pervades the album.
"I rotoscoped a couple of the big dives from a video of an extreme high-diving contest that took place in the 80s.
"About a week after I had animated the first guy's big jump, I returned to the video to check out some other usable clips.
"I realised I had never watched the full clip of the first jump - I had just stopped once he hit the water.
"I found out that after he lands in the water he floats back up unconscious and then gets taken away on a stretcher.
"So now what was I supposed to do? People in the comments were asking what had happened but no one knew the answer.
"After a bunch of snooping around the internet I found the guy's Facebook and he's totally alive.
"His name is Pat and he lives in Florida. I messaged him but he hasn't answered."
"'Feuds With Guns' is one of the first songs written from our upcoming LP. This one is a good slow-dancer!
"Written almost entirely in the Cabanon at The Rigaud Ranch, this one started out as an organ and drum idea that morphed into a little OMD-style pop song."
In early 2021, as the world burns, there might be nothing less trendy than an hour-long psych-rock epic by a band of Canadian grandmasters.
Then again, there might be nothing we need more.
The album is available to stream/purchase now. CLICK HERE for more details.