Critically acclaimed Canadian indie rock band The Besnard Lakes and legendary Japanese all-girl rock trio Shonen Knife will make stops at Kalamazoo's The Strutt in Kalamazoo this fall.
The Besnard Lakes visit The Strutt on October 5, with special guests Malajube and Elm Street Riot. Hailing from Montreal, The Besnard Lakes play a mix of orchestral pop and guitar-driven shoegaze rock that Chicago Tribune rock critic Greg Kot described as "a marriage of Brian Wilson-like splendor and My Bloody Valentine-worthy roar." Kot picked the band's "The Besnard Lakes are the Roaring Night" album as number two on his top 10 list of 2010 album releases. The record was also nominated for the 2010 Polaris Music Prize, given each year to the best full-length Canadian album based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label. Tickets are $10 and are available online through Fusion Shows website.
Shonen Knife, which has been together since 1981, will appear at the Strutt on Nov. 13. The Japanese band's music -- which mixes elements of '60s girls groups, early punk and garage rock -- first rose to prominence during the '90s after opened for Nirvana on the tour to promote the Seattle band's breakthrough record, Nevermind. The band's video for the song "Tomato Head" later appeared on the MTV animated hit show Beavis and Butthead, earning Shonen Knife thousands of more good humored fans.
The Strutt will also host an album release party for Michigan dance-rock outfit Ella Riot (formerly My Dear Disco) on October 7.
Photo: The Besnard Lakes (courtesy photo)
