In a piece for Exclaim!, Jace Lasek of the Besnard Lakes mentioned a few bands that influenced the band’s approach to vocals on the new ablum, saying, “It seems to be a natural evolution for us, on top of the fact that I still listen to a lot of Bee Gees and Brian Wilson.”

Naturally, when I was interviewing Lasek for a preview of their upcoming Regina show, I had to ask him about the Bee Gees.

He said:

Some of my favourite albums are the first four Bee Gees records, from ’65 to ’73. I don’t know if any people have heard them, but they’re amazing. There’s one record in particular that’s called Odessa that’s their total psych album.

I’ve always been a huge Bee Gees fan, even the disco era. It was great music, great pop music. And they’re great songwriters. Obviously, their harmonies are pretty rich. That was going to be a huge influence on me. I’ve always been into vocal music like the Beach Boys and the Bee Gees. That’s always filtering into the making of all the albums.

The Besnard Lakes are playing at the Exchange on Thursday, April 29 with Hollerado and Tinsel Trees.