Canadians with wobbly voices about to run out of breath
The anticipation for the second full-length from Wolf Parade has rivaled my anticipation waiting for Interpol's Antic's to come out several years back. Finally I have been able to give the 9 tracks on the new album "At Mount Zoomer" several solid listens.
I heard the 2 songs Wolf Parade posted a week or so ago on Myspace a couple times and had a luke-warm reaction to them. I didn't dissect them much at the time but when listening in passing they seemed more subdued, not as maniacally off-kilter as their previous work. Since the Wolf Parade release in 2005 Spencer Krug has been in at least a few bands I know and listen to, Sunset Rubdown and Swan Lake. Dan Boeckner started the band with his wife called Handsome Furs. I was able to see Sunset Rubdown and Handsome Furs play in recent memory, effectively to the two front-men for Wolf Parade. I am excited to have Wolf Parade tickets for the first time on July 31. Can the new release live up to all the hype and anticipation from the previous album?
Through the first listen on the first half of the album I was not sure. It felt like it was not as caustic and driving as I wanted it to be. The churning fury of the dueling keyboards wasn't there in the same way as Apologies. I especially was not satisifed with California Dreamer with the Ray Manzarek sounding keyboards. However, with several subsequent listens the album has gained increasing impact and admiration. The fire is definitely still there. The final 3 tracks are an especially outstanding finish.
In similar fashion to Apologies to the Queen Mary the tracks primarily alternate between singing by Boeckner and Krug. The sprawling finale, Kissing The Beehive, a duet between the two. Sounds odd to think of it as a duet, a duet makes me think of Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers or something, this is nothing like that. The combination of the vocal styles complement one another quite well as an entire album. Both have a pending urgency and haunting despair about them. I listened to Apologies to the Queen Mary several times before I even realized there were multiple vocalists on the album. Its very clear now with not just with my current knowledge of their previous work but their styles have become more distinctive yet fortunately for this album still mesh will together as a whole. While listening to track 8 "An Animal in Your Care" I was thinking how Krug often sounds like he's about to run out of breath with contrasting almost angelic qualities about his voice. Definitely evident when listening to Sunset Rubdown.
At Mount Zoomer may not be as manical and furious as Apologies to the Queen Mary at first listen but they have done something new again. The duel keyboards are again used effectively but are more subtle. They eerie-ness of this album becomes more apparent with repeat listens. I'm not sure if the theremin is used again on a few tracks or its just a synth sound. Many possible influences seemed to come to mind at first. However, after more listens it blends together and it just sounds like Wolf Parade. The final flourish of Kissing the Beehive, the Dinner Bells of this album, weaves keyboards and distorted guitars is especially satisfying.
See this previous entry for thoughts on Apologies to the Queen Mary. http://josephrussell.com/blink/2005/dec/27/drunken-calliope-trance/
