Wolf Parade - EXPO 86

About a year ago I wrote this pretentious post about how I was so excited to hear the new Wolf Parade album, EXPO 86. Bad ass as they are, I got around to the album, wrote a long-winded review of it here and never came back to share how I felt about it. I’ve gotta be honest in that although I heard it many times, something always felt a bit empty about it for me. I always maintained that it had to be the fact that I never got around to buying a physical copy of it on vinyl or CD because the quality was not up to par. And still, I felt stupid because they’re definitely one of the better bands out there and I couldn’t find time to buy a vinyl copy in all of 2010? I’m terrible I know but come on. But now, I’ve gotten down to the heart of the album with a copy that is rich and pretty gorgeous.

The guitar and synths on “In the Direction of the Moon” are such a driving force that they shake and rattle the song with a defining presence. It’s the same menacing melody over and over; traded between different instruments that get’s passed around through a swirling mist of noise. It’s this massive, very nearly six-minute long, song that pummels with a relentless drive and the entire time, you can’t get enough of that singular melody. The best thing about Wolf Parade is that Spencer Krug’s styles go so well with the more muscular stuff Boeckner creates. On this song Krug delivers climactic lines with the help of soaring lines and raucous thumps of drums. These songs sound so epic, so HUGE, and still, lines like “I - I'm a wall of sand and stone. And you - you're some kind of ivy I'm trying to hold, as best I can.” are so bitterly personal.


So much so that when it trades into Dan Boeckner’s “Ghost Pressure,” you find yourself sort of still left with a missing feeling but by the time you hit the glorious chorus on this song, everything is downright seamless. If the wall on the previous song wasn’t enough, the nervy groove on this song is where it’s at. There’s times where everything slams away against a pounding drum before it all comes together on a blissful tremble of Boeckner singing “Little vision come shake me up…” I love the way they blend all of their styles onto a song that is merely part of a rather diverse entity. So even with each song sounding different from the rest, within the song there is so much territory covered that the band’s range is amazing. – Bryan

Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary

I’ve been going back and listening to a lot of albums I haven’t heard in a very long time. Lately, I’ve been going to the year 2005 on my computer and playing stuff from that year because 1) it was a monster year for music and 2) it was a year that WAS muffled and stuffy with nostalgia for me but now, I feel entirely invigorated by it. I remember hearing this kind of stuff and being bummed about the past and now I hear it and it simply galvanizes me as I strongly look towards the future. I mentioned Illinois earlier – which is also from ’05 – and now here is what many consider the best album of that year (not me but I still love it) Apologies for the Queen Mary.

For starters, the first song, “You Are a Runner and I Am My Father's Son” is such a great way to start any album: its stomping drums are a singular call to arms, Spencer Krug’s voice is the flat-out BOMB and that stampeding piano has left me exhilarated each and every time I hear it. “I was a hero early in the morning, I aint no hero in the night” is one of the best lines on the song and it also showcased just what Isaac Brock was capable of in terms of production. The sounds were open here, the clarity was surrounding the band’s impressive musicianship and this is a downright beast of a song.


I’m inclined to mention “Modern World” here because the transition from the aforementioned into it is one of the best on the album. It’s especially skillful in the fact that it goes from a wild, romping Krug song into this howling, smooth but tenacious Dan Boeckner song. I’ve always loved the way each musician can bring so much to the table and how they’re so different from each other and yet, they go hand-in-hand. The chemistry is undeniable and still, you can distinctly always tell who wrote what song. Looks like this is the official video to the song which I had never seen before until now:


And of course, I couldn’t mention this album without including “I’ll Believe in Anything” (power of 3) because it’s very simply one of the best songs I’ve ever heard. Sure it’s cliché but the way everything comes together around another stomping drum and this time, a stampeding guitar, and of course, Krug’s maniacal, awesome voice is amazing. At first he’s singing and asking for her to trust him “And I could take another hit for you, and I could take away your trips from you, and I could take away the salt from your eyes” and essentially saying that if he’s gonna believe in anything, she has to trust him too. It’s an entirely romantic song and well, I’m a foolish romantic so it definitely hits home here too. I love it when he sings, “So give me your eyes, I need sunshine” because everything looks beautiful with her eyes; what a wonderful line. – Bryan

Wolf Parade

The tenacious band from Canada has announced a follow-up to 2007’s sprawling At Mount Zoomer with a new album that is scheduled to be released sometime in late June/early July. Not only am I slanted towards the early July release but if Dan Boeckner feels it’s the ‘most fun’ he’s had making a Wolf Parade album then I can’t wait to hear it. And this is ripe news for me as I’ve taking the time to fully analyze and appreciate the aforementioned album. Not only is it diverse but I’ve finally come around to enjoying Spencer Krug’s twirling “California Dreamer” and well, I’ve always loved Boeckner’s “Fine Young Cannibals,” with its funky groove.

Their first album is Apologies to the Queen Mary and it’s been rightfully regarded as one of the best albums of the entire 2000s, let alone one of the best during the monster year that 2005 was. And that’s what so awesome: these two men work in a cycle, never ceasing to halt their determined methods. While Boeckner makes an album with Handsome Furs every other year and Krug does the same on his superior, Sunset Rubdown project, they meet back in the middle to concoct another album of sublime music.

The album’s title will be Expo 86 and I hope it’s a smash to all that hear it, including me. Here are a couple of songs – including one of the most beautiful songs of the entire last decade, “I’ll Believe in Anything” – I personally love from Wolf Parade. – Bryan