Wolf Parade
Wolf Parade
Sub Pop
That sound you hear as you’re reading this review is the feet dragging. Yes, INK19 is finally getting around to reviewing Wolf Parade’s EP, even though the band has already burned up the ranks of many critic’s Best-of-2005 lists. Will we influence your decision to buy something that’s so well-regarded? Probably not. But that doesn’t mean we won’t get our two cents in.
You know the story: produced by Modest Mouse’s Issac Brock, riding those lovely coattails of The Arcade Fire, etc. The surprising thing is how much Wolf Parade lives up to the hype. This EP is a primer for the full-length, which was released shortly after, and it’s full of quirkily anthemic songs that pulse with equal parts dance and rock. Decidedly more pop and less orchestra than their countryfolk in Arcade Fire, but more instrumentally obscure than Modest Mouse, the band cultivates playful dissonance and beautiful minor chord melancholy on both large, echoing playing fields (“You Are a Runner and I am My Fathers Son”) and sweaty, claustrophobic post-punk clubs (“Disco Sheets”). As a country, Canada already has many musical bases exquisitely covered. Wolf Parade is in charge of minding the kinda-Bowie, kinda-Joy Division, whole-lotta-Talking Heads portion. But then you already knew that, right?
Sub Pop: http://www.subpop.com
