Has some beach bum from Southern California been put in charge of monitoring Montreal’s drinking water? Whatever the case may be, plenty of Montreal musicians have definitely been bitten by the Beach Boys bug over the past year, from Miracle Fortress to the Besnard Lakes, a six-piece band whose sound recalls the Wilson brothers’ cheery harmonies as much as it does Pink Floyd’s epic drive. On the Besnard Lakes’ latest full-length, The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse, the band enlisted some of Montreal’s finest utility players (from Stars, Godspeed! You Black Emperor, and the Dears, to name a few) to produce an album rich with weaving string, flute, and horn arrangements, blasts of post-rock-meets-classic-rock grandeur, and intensely dark and surreal moments. With Starvin Hungry and Battle Hymns.

Wed., Sept. 26, 8 p.m., 2007