Peaks and Valleys

It seemed like every time I mentioned Sunset Rubdown or Handsome Furs in the past 3 years, I also referenced Wolf Parade. Given that Wolf Parade's two songwriters Spencer Krug and Dan Boeckner are the driving forces behind those other projects (and let's not forget Swan Lake, I suppose), my mention of this connection shouldn't be all too surprising. The thing is, with every album Krug and Boeckner were involved in I said the same thing each time: it's not as good as Wolf Parade. "Apologies to the Queen Mary," the Wolf Parade debut, had me in a trance I've yet to emerge from, and words cannot express the number of disappointments I kept receiving as Sunset Rubdown put out multiple (still very good) records while Wolf Parade sat dormant.

Now it's finally time. My personal long-awaited return of Wolf Parade. "At Mount Zoomer" arrived in stores yesterday, and it's pretty much what I hoped it would be. That is to say, it's absolutely excellent. Plenty of times you let your expectations get the best of you, to the point where you can never legitimately be satisfied by any music an artist releases. You've built up such an ideal based upon an album that nothing can legitimately follow in its place and be nearly as good. Wolf Parade isn't at the level of anticipation that bands like Radiohead and (hypothetically speaking) My Bloody Valentine are under, but I'd say it's fair to call them akin to an Arcade Fire or even a Clap Your Hands Say Yeah in that their debuts were such highlights there's added pressure for that second album.

So yes, Wolf Parade deliver and very much satisfy with "At Mount Zoomer." Many will express disappointment at the lack of actual "singles" on this album, and there aren't any particularly standout tracks like "I'll Believe In Anything" was on "Apologies..." but I don't think that's a problem at all. As a person who prefers the album format to the single format, the cohesive whole of "At Mount Zoomer" is stronger than any individual songs could provide. You get no real ear-catching tracks because the entire record is supposed to claim your full attention, and I think it achieves that quite nicely. There's plenty of familiar sounds on this album as well, which keep you in that Wolf Parade frame of mind while at the same time mining new territory, displaying that the band actively fought to avoid making the same record twice. There's more synth and piano across this album, and they're oftentimes placed more prominently in the songs giving a remarkably fascinating perspective with things like guitars pushed farther back in the mix. It's that varied approach to the songs, along with the spectacular pacing of the overall record that makes "At Mount Zoomer" something very special.

If I'm going to say something negative about the album, I'd mention that the final song, "Kissing the Beehive" feels a little bloated and over-extended. Or maybe the band was just trying to do a little too much with it and stretched their creativity a little too far. I don't know for sure, and while the 11 minutes of the song flew by, I couldn't help but think during the track that there was just a little too much going on. You can call the song an experiment gone mildly wrong if you will. And it doesn't actually destroy my perception of the album as a whole in any real sense. I've got nothing but positivity to send Wolf Parade's way, and though "At Mount Zoomer" might not have quite the incredible staying power that "Apologies to the Queen Mary" had, it comes incredibly close to it. Let's call it an album that comes as close to equalling the previous one without quite making it there. In terms of sophmore efforts, I think Wolf Parade hit it out of the park. Now if the band would just take less than 3 years to craft a third album, I think everybody would wind up happy.

Wolf Parade- Call It A Ritual
Wolf Parade- Language City
Wolf Parade- Bang Your Drum

Buy "At Mount Zoomer" from Amazon

Labels: handsome furs, sunset rubdown, wolf parade