Dan Boekner and Alexei Perry of Handsome Furs. Photo via Myspace

Montreal, Canada, rockers Handsome Furs recently released their second full-length Album, Face Control, on Sub Pop Records. The husband and wife duo of Dan Boekner and Alexei Perry have produced a great album, if your into this type of 80’s sound.  Boekner, who fronts the Canadian indie rock supergroup, Wolf Parade, with Spencer Krug, is putting out some of the best retro rock today.  The band has obvious influences of the post-punk genre including bands such as New Order, Talking Heads and Devo. Boekner’s unique guitar tone and  gruff voice are what turn me on to the band. Perry supplies the highly-danceable beats with drum machines and keys. I like what she does with these digital machines, it’s cool hearing a rock song with 808 bass drops, like on Legal Tender.

The inspiration behind Face Control was a peculiar aspect of club culture they observed while on tour in Eastern Europe: if party goers wish to reserve a table at a bar in Moscow, they must pay large sums of money through PayPal or with cash, however their seat is still not guaranteed; bouncers have the authority to turn reserved patrons away from the bar based solely on appearance, which has been termed “face control.” (1)

How great would it be to travel the world as husband and wife and write rock music about it? I highly recommend picking up this album and listening to it immediately. I’m still kicking myself for missing them when they recently played at Skully’s in Columbus. But I did catch Boekner with Wolf Parade at the Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland and that show was amazing. It’s funny how Boekner and Krug tour more with their lesser known groups, than with Wolf Parade who has produced the critically acclaimed albums Apologies to the Queen Mary and At Mount Zoomer. Wolf Parade was actually signed to Sub Pop by Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock. Wolf Parade will record their third album this October.

(1) Radio Free Canuckistan, “Dan Boeckner Interview”, December 12, 2007

Before “At Mount Zoomer” was called “At Mount Zoomer” it was tentatively being called “Kissing The Beehive” everywhere.

Not sure if Wolf Parade had initially titled it that or if it was just a “hey why not let’s pick a song title for record name guys ahem?” type thing.

“At Mount Zoomer” came out over a year ago now (I believe)…maybe even longer ago.

And when it came out I listened to it once or twice and was a little confused. A bunch of people who loved “Apologies To The Queen Mary” told me it wasn’t so good…etc.

To preface, “Apologies To The Queen Mary” was so good that it inspired me to listen to everything from Johnny and the Moon to Frog Eyes (decisions I regret) as the members of Wolf Parade are notorious band-whores and involved in about 15 projects each at any given time.

Some of these side projects are decent (Handsome Furs) some of them are kind of…ummm…not fun to listen to at all (Sunset Rubdown).

Regardless, “Apologies To The Queen Mary” was a debut album that would have to be ranked alongside the Arcade Fire’s “Funeral” for instant amazement.

Was it any surprise that things were changed up a bit on their sophomore albums (for either band)? Not really.

What I think is the ultimate qualm people have with “At Mount Zoomer” is that it isn’t really poppy. It’s songs aren’t as instantly catchy or memorable. The keyboards are heavier and less melodic. The songs don’t always have up front discernible choruses.

But after listening to it about 35 times over the last year, I have decided that I really love “At Mount Zoomer”.

It sounds almost like a rock opera in some ways. Particularly the 10+ minute closer “Kissing The Beehive”.

It would not come as a surprise to me to hear that the song was inspired by Meat Loaf. Maybe Meat Loaf in girl’s jeans with cloves. But Meat Loaf nonetheless.

It is a completely different record in tone and style than “Apologies To The Queen Mary” but is still a really fun record to listen to.

For that I commend them.

I would also iMeem a link to the record if iMeem wasn’t all of the sudden blocked at this office…

dan boeckner, frontman of the canadian indie band wolf parade, and his wife alexei perry want you to have a new song on them, isn’t that sweet? handsome furs are soon releasing the follow-up to their 2007 album, plague park. the new album, face control, will be out february 3rd of this year. you can download the song, “i’m confused” for free via spin mag.

wolf parade’s 2008 release, at mount zoomer, was phenomenal and will be way up there on my best of list when i finally get done with it. if you don’t have at mount zoomer yet, you need it, along with face control on the 3rd of februay. no, really, you do.

handsome furs’ upcoming shows
Thu Mar 12    Mavericks    Ottawa, ON
Fri Mar 13      Horseshoe Tavern (CMW)    Toronto, ON
Sat Mar 14     Blind Pig    Ann Arbor, MI
Sun Mar 15    Empty Bottle    Chicago, IL
Mon Mar 16   Off Broadway     St. Louis, MO
Tue Mar 17     Mojo’s    Columbia, MO
Sat Mar 21      The Loft    Dallas, TX
Mon Mar 23   Jackpot    Lawrence, KS
Wed Mar 25   The Aquarium (Dempsey’s Upstairs)    Fargo, ND
Thu Mar 26    7th Street Entry    Minneapolis, MN
Fri Mar 27      The Maintenance Shop    Ames, IA
Sat Mar 28     The Mill    Iowa City, IA
Mon Mar 30   Southgate House     Newport, KY

handsome furs’ myspace

2008 was a pretty good year for new music.

The Best albums released in 2008 (Album -  Artist):

1. Brighter Than Creation’s Dark -  Drive-By Truckers
2. The Evening Descends -  Evangelicals
3. The Chemistry of Common Life -  F**ked Up
4. At Mount Zoomer -  Wolf Parade
5. HLLLYH -  The Mae Shi
6. Hold On Now, Youngster… -  Los Campesinos!
7. Liver! Lung! FR! -  Frightened Rabbit
8. Ice Cream Spiritual -  Ponytail
9. Jim -  Jamie Lidell
10. Heretic Pride -  The Mountain Goats

“You! Me! Dancing!” by Los Campesinos!, from their debut album, Hold On Now, Youngster… (also found on the 2007 EP Sticking Fingers Into Sockets)

The rest of the best (in no particular order):

• 808s & Heartbreak -  Kanye West
• Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
• Third -  Portishead
• We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed -  Los Campesinos!
• Vivian Girls -  Vivian Girls
• In The Future -  Black Mountain
• Distortion – The Magnetic Fields
• Ferndorf -  Hauschka
• Life…The Best Game in Town -  Harvey Milk
• Cities of Glass -  AIDS Wolf
• Microcastle -  Deerhunter
• The Odd Couple -  Gnarls Barkley
• Skeleton -  Abe Vigoda
• The Midnight Organ Fight -  Frightened Rabbit
• The Twilight Sad Killed My Parents and Hit the Road -  The Twilight Sad
• Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea – Silver Jews
• Methods: (EP) -  Imperial China
• Sing Along (EP)  -  Caverns
• Kittens! (EP)  -  Caverns
• Music Needs You -  Ryan Blotnick
• Red, Yellow & Blue -  Born Ruffians
• A Certain Feeling -  Bodies of Water
• Nouns -  No Age
• Smile -  Boris
• Pop-Up -  Yelle
• Made In The Dark -  Hot Chip
• Lost and Found -  The Dexateens
• Long Gone And Nearly There -  Julie Ocean
• Litany of Echoes -  James Blackshaw
• Arm’s Way -  Islands
• Magnificent Fiend -  Howlin’ Rain
• High Places -  High Places
• Flight Of The Conchords -  Flight Of The Conchords
• Christmas On Mars (Soundtrack)  -  The Flaming Lips
• Street Horrrsing -  F**k Buttons
• Visiter -  The Dodos
• Nothing Is Precious Enough for Us -  Death Vessel
• Drippers and  Bonus Drippers -  Black Moth Super Rainbow
• Rip It Off -  Times New Viking

Best Re-issue of 2008:

1. Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul -  Otis Redding

- R.H.

The Best Albums of 2008 :

1. Is it the Sea – Bonnie Prince Billy : Our favorite melancountry superstar delivers a live album that reminds one of his greatness while examining it in a whole new light.

2. Stay Positive – The Hold Steady : Working class is not a label that readily describes Craig Finn and co but their tales of townies and misguided teenagers are just as funny, touching and perfect in their own scrappy way as ever. The world’s best bar music as interpreted by indie elitists.

3. Glasvegas – Glasvegas : Melodic catharsis in spades delivered by four Glasgowians. This young band is not infallible as a whispered poem over Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata suffers in comparison to the original but they got spirit, energy and stories of absent fathers, wounded teens and overall angst that really should not work as well as they do.

4. We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed – Los Campesinos : Cheeky and clever but much more than that. Nihilists on the outside but pop craftsmen at heart, their ruminations on youth’s assured end in dejected failure are all good fun until you stop and realize they’re telling you the party’s going to be over and there’s nothing you can do.

5. Microcastle – Deerhunter : There’s something ethereal about this band and especially this album. Playing with avant garde ideas without sacrificing listenability, these ambassadors of indie keep winning.

6. You and Me – The Walkmen : The Bob Dylan comparisons become ever more pronounced especially with frontman Hamilton Leithauser affecting nasally intonations. Still, their chief appeal is heartfelt, esoteric storytelling, aged and cackling.

7. Skeletal Lamping – Of Montreal : The hype machine finally broke down and Kevin Barnes began to tumble critically while selling out shows. The music, however, is just as inventive and grand as it ever was. Though lacking the darkness of Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?, Barnes’ latest is rife with the new ideas he keeps discovering and surely will stand more prominently in the cannon once the sobering influence of time takes hold.

8. Modern Guilt – Beck : The dream team of Beck and The Gray Album mastermind Dangermouse creates surprisingly ignored quality tunes. Beck is still haunted by his demons from Sea Change but he still finds time to offer Dangermouse jubilant, sampled pop ditties to wash down the depression.

9. Saturnalia – The Gutter Twins : An album that abounds with apocalypse throughout as two musical legends push each other to the limits of their sensibilities, one high the other low.

10.That Lucky Old Sun – Brian Wilson : A musical legend who seems to be experimenting with the harmonies and arrangements that have fascinated him throughout his career not for the audience’s benefit but his own. The results are as reliably stunning as ever.

Honorable Mention: 808s and Hearbreak – Kanye West, Untitled – Nas, A Larum – Johnny Flynn and the Sussex Wit, The ‘59 Sound – The Gaslight Anthem

- Vman

10. The Black Keys – Attack & Release

Dan Auerbach is the year’s worthiest bluesman, having proved his mettle time and time again with a slew of sleeper blues albums over the past seven years. Along with drummer/producer extraordinaire Patrick Carney, he is a consistent source of noteworthy rock and roll.

There’s a touch of ambition evident here: hearing the acoustic slow-burn start to “All You Ever Wanted,” one can’t help but recall Zeppelin when the swell finally comes, and the fuzzed out guitar makes space for a righteous blast of the organ. The bluesy banjo and old-timey piano cameos, along with the ghostly harmony parts in “Psychotic Girl” are spot-on, providing that much needed atmosphere to paint the miasmatic scenes. There’s even some Tull-esque flute featured in “Same Old Thing.”

Though Attack and Release is by far the most instrumentally resourceful album from the band yet, it doesn’t cease to impress with more traditional tracks like “I Got Mine,” the guitars grinding it out with growls and howls aplenty. It’s certainly not an unwelcome change, nor a terribly dicey one; after all, the star of the show is still Auerbach’s ragged wail.

If the first four tracks of this album don’t boil your blue blood, it’s time to give the genre up.

Recommended tracks: “I Got Mine;” “Strange Times;” “Psychotic Girl”

9. The Walkmen – You & Me

You & Me bounces along on a deft bassline at the start of “Dondé está la Playa” and doesn’t stop impressing until the abrupt ending of “If Only It Were True,” rambling through 51 minutes of jangly, sweet indie rock with style abounding. Lead singer Hamilton Leithauser even channels a bit of Frankie Valli on “Canadian Girl.” To seemingly contradict this, he grips his microphone as if it could fly from his grasp at any moment, cocking his head and baring teeth to eke out the high notes. For a voice that intones a certain stately composure, his presentation is patently unaffected.

Listening to The Walkmen is enjoyable partly because they write great pop music, but more so because they play it with such care. Their harmonies and horns are never gratuitous, and the band orchestrates its stops with the song’s best interest at heart (“Red Moon”).

Take “In The New Year,” for example: the ringing and breaking chorus is a lulling delight; the agogic tension between the drums and the rest of the band is truly masterful. While the band is basically working variations on a theme, they’ve more than proven that they are capable and hardy balladeers. They’ve bested A Hundred Miles Off and given Bows + Arrows a run for its money, if not surpassing it altogether, with this excellently mature album.

Recommended tracks: “Dondé está la Playa;” “In The New Year;” “Red Moon”

8. Eagles of Death Metal – Heart On

The Eagles of Death Metal’s third album is by far their slickest, but with their over-serious approach to making funny and catchy rock and roll, it fits the bill better than expected. Tracks like “Secret Plans” and “Prissy Prancing” reflect the band’s first record in a glammier sense, but thankfully the band wisely strays from overdosing on ProTools. Jessie Hughes and Josh Homme ironically shoot from the hip concerning their silver tongues: “ask me if I can be true / ask me where I’m going to / I say I love you but you ought to know / I only love the night and I’m always on the go / I’ll tell you anything, baby, except the truth.”

Of their three albums, Heart On shows the most evidence of Homme’s touch. You’ll hear his ghostly background harmonies haunting the intro of “WannaBe in L.A.,” but the songs are all still Jesse’s, with his simple trademark blues guitar forming the backbone of nearly every tune here. It speaks volumes that the songs can all be stripped down to guitar and drums alone, and therein lies the beauty of the Eagles: these are two guys who know how to play off each other’s strengths. With every record, the Eagles threaten Homme’s day job in Queens of the Stone Age; Josh’s enjoyment of Heart On is unmistakable, and he doesn’t even really sing lead or play guitar in the studio. Even wife Brody Dalle cameos haggardly on “Cheap Thrills.”

Though nothing may surpass Death By Sexy, the Eagles are still in fine form. And while they may not be the original Eagles, they write dirty rock and roll like they invented it. Heart On is gleefully peppered with antics that would make Glenn Frey blush. You know where to go to get your buzz.

“Anything ‘Cept The Truth;” “(I Used To Couldn’t Dance) Tight Pants;” “Secret Plans”

7. TV on the Radio – Dear Science

He’s a what, now? Well, he’s a newspaper man, to be sure. That seemingly off-the-cuff lyric from “Dancing Choose” seems somehow to typify TV on the Radio; their constant struggle as New Yorkers is to echo the front-page atmosphere of dissent in our present political climate. This, of course, is supplemented with more standard fare (“Make Love All Night Love”).

There’s always a mixed bag of blips and bleeps on any TV on the Radio track, but the markedly mature thing about Dear Science is its evident pop sensibility (“Dancing Choose,” “Golden Age,”). To qualify that: Tunde Adebimpe’s vocals take some unpacking, but frankly the arrangements are a strict (and stark) improvement over Return to Cookie Mountain. That is not an altogether simple achievement, granted the hard-earned critical reception to their 2006 release.

Whether or not TV on the Radio has seen their magnum opus in 2008 is certainly a point of contention. One point that can’t be disputed, however, is that this is their first non-hideous album cover, a fact the indie music scene celebrates with palpable vigor. Although its terse electronics and seemingly heavy-handed facade make Dear Science a challenge, the parental wisdom you have stored in the recesses of your brain finally resounds all-too clearly: nothing good ever comes easy.

Recommended tracks: “Halfway Home;” “Dancing Choose;” “Stork & Owl”

6. Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend

Rather unceremoniously crowned “the whitest band” by blogosphere socialite and author Christian Lander, it’s easy to see how a newcomer might be hesitant to dip their toes. In reality, however, Vampire Weekend have penned and plunked out some of the most markedly black (well, that is to say, “African,”) music of the year. With its layered polyrhythms (“Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa”), and call-and-answer harmonies (“One (Blake’s Got A New Face)”), it’s almost a spiritual successor to Graceland.

Weekend’s members having met while studying at Columbia University, their lyrics and music exude youth and the carefree university conduct, going so far as, tellingly, to have named a song “Campus.” But all this is lost on the 34 minutes of jangle-pop bliss that is Vampire Weekend, because in truth, the audience cares less about how they did it, as long as they keep doing it. The media, as well: even for one of 2008’s most feted debuts, a number of TV spots and a movie soundtrack feature is not a bad dash of press.

“Mansard Roof” is a deceptively fitting opener, starting with naught but a modest key intro and Ezra Koenig’s agile baritone. Soon the string arrangement gives way to a rambunctious drummer and skittering guitar tremolos, succinctly and perfectly expressing Vampire Weekend in a single track. They’re seeing the tops of those houses now, unquestionably.

Recommended tracks: “Oxford Comma;” “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa;” “One (Blake’s Got A New Face)”

5. Portishead – Third

Portishead are quite plainly masters of atmosphere, relentlessly crafting arresting constructs of electronic wonder and looped guitar until Third’s intermission, “Deep Water,” offers some stripped-down antique flavor. As with Portishead’s every go, the band has proved themselves capable of getting their hooks into the listener simply by drawing the tension out. Adding bit by bit, they tease and tack on weight until the mammoth tunes appear ready to collapse under their own weight.

One of them does, in fact – “Silence” merely cuts off just before the five minute mark, ostensibly to keep it from spiraling right into oblivion. Beth Gibbons’ fragile lament enters a full two minutes after the band has wound the song into a tight, dark, coil. Just as the opener for Third threatens to run out of steam, a new descending guitar line breathes aching life into a plaintive mass of torment. It may not exactly be a trailblazer of an album, but as we’ve seen that in the past, some of the best albums are perfecting, not pioneering.

Emotive and evocative, Third was worth the decade wait.

Recommended tracks: “Silence;” “Hunter;” “Magic Doors”

4. Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago

Every year, we get some folk gem of an album that promises to be the new folk bible for the next ten years. Iron and Wine, Kings of Convenience, Andrew Bird, Joanna Newsom, Devendra Banhart — all have come in and quietly shaken things up just the past five years. The latest product of our pressing times is Bon Iver, the pseudonym for Justin Vernon, a pretty unassuming-looking twenty-seven-year-old from Wisconsin.

The recordings on Emma may be rudimentary in spots, but that’s certainly part of its charm. The buzzing sympathetic string in “Flume” and the flimsy Silvertone guitar timbre throughout may suggest an amateur, but Vernon writes and arranges like a pro, and his unique vocal manner can rouse the listener gently even at a fast clip (“Lump Sum”). And although the trappings are rural and the subject interpersonal, the rambling “For Emma” is startlingly theatrical, with its cryptic narrative detailing tender heartache. To the careless listener, “Re: Stacks” won’t betray its true meaning, but when introducing the song, Vernon is more than forthright concerning his destitute dealings: “There’s a black crow sitting across from me / his wiry legs are crossed / and he’s dangling my keys, he even fakes a toss / whatever could it be / that has brought me to this loss?”

Even the setting is picturesque: the entire album was recorded in a small cabin in the sticks of Wisconsin. This is surely one of the finest folk albums of the year, boasting more than just the soul-baring lyrics and smooth crooning we’ve come to take for granted of late. If you’re at home amidst the distant swirls of chimney smoke and falling snow, For Emma, Forever Ago is your instant folk classic.

Recommended tracks: “Flume;” “The Wolves (Act I and II);” “Re: Stacks”

3. M83 – Saturdays = Youth

Nouveau 80s has taken a lot of interesting forms in the last year, but nobody channels the era of cultured pop electronica quite like M83. Still, this is no rehash of Mr. Mister and Depeche Mode, and with the band still being the work of Anthony Gonzalez alone, it’s downright impressive.

“You Appearing” is a wistful and weighty opener, setting the mood with an airy vocal refrain before giving way to the triumphant anthem “Kim & Jessie.” The textures at work in these two tracks alone are trembling with energy and ardor, and take listens upon listens to fully uncover. At this point, however, the album is really only warming up. By the time Saturdays approaches the revolving instrumental epic “Midnight Souls Still Remain,” the eleven minutes of calm it provides are the only way to wind the record down properly. For a Frenchman, this album was crafted inside a bubble of a surprisingly American aesthetic: “death is her boyfriend / she spits on summers and smiles to the night / she collects crowns made of black roses / but her heart is made of bubble gum.”

The really spectacular thing about M83 is that Gonzalez sees tone as a means to an end, rather than an end in itself. This allows him to paint some terrific songs using his arrangements as a hue on his palette rather than as the medium itself, as so many of the post-rock and indie bands nowadays do. The result is a staggering, surprisingly hopeful album that positively shimmers with grandeur.

Recommended tracks: “You Appearing;” “Skin Of The Night;” “Graveyard Girl”

2. Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes

While this may be the most overhyped album this year, Fleet Foxes is certainly no slouch. Given its rather pastoral setting — look at the cover, for Pete’s sake — this album looks as if it’s cut from folk cloth and ready to give Sam Beam a thrashing. In the end, however, this humble giant is unfiltered pop, with its gorgeous harmonies and fetching choruses — a true sing-along album from a prodigiously talented group.

To date, Fleet Foxes has sold over 200,000 copies, which is nothing short of an indie music miracle, but also speaks to the universal allure of the music. It’s quite a benchmark for a band of their appeal, and certainly a record for their label Bella Union.

Although the album is as cohesive as any of those listed here, the strength of its individual tracks is impossible to deny. “White Winter Hymnal” is an instant classic, with its pleasant gospel sway and 60s-era guitar riff; it’s a full-fledged pop-folk gem. “Oliver James,” a gentle acoustic ballad, is one of the superior album closers of the year.

What’s good in 2008? A band that plays music for the love of music, releasing a killer debut that can’t possibly be surpassed with a sophomore effort. What’s better? God bless them, they do it justice on stage. The inescapable downside? As mentioned, they are in their honeymoon. Here’s hoping their dedication to the craft doesn’t take a nosedive when the garbage has to go out.

Recommended tracks: “White Winter Hymnal;” “Ragged Wood;” “Oliver James”

1. Shearwater – Rook

Not everyone in the music business is trying too hard. At the end of the day, there are loads of people who want to make beautiful, creative music, but with the lengths that “indie” music has stretched the past few years, in some cases it’s been a race to see who’s going to hit the next gold mine. Refreshingly, Rook shivers with the fervor and panache of an imaginary world, rather than the deepest exploits and sullies of our own.

Rook embarks with an apropos crash from “On The Death Of The Waters,” and the avian drama “Rooks” is likewise crackling with energy. It’s when the album first pauses in the repose of “Leviathan, Bound,” however, that it is so firmly established as the finest album of 2009; it’s the best song released this year. Accompanied by the artful hammered dulcimer drone, the melody of “Leviathan” is a vitreous aperture into the deep of vocalist Jonathan Meiburg’s theatre. The magic and myth spoken of here — and indeed, throughout the album — immediately abstracts Shearwater: this kind of material would utterly reek of camp and bombast coming from any other artist; Meiburg’s voice empowers the theme rather than parodying it.

What separates Shearwater from all others this year is their magnificent and effortless capture of poetry within paean: “my winged children, all / will fly over the mountain wall / to the lid of the sky / and slice its belly full wide / with their warm knives.” Rarely do you see any artist so seamlessly blend their songwriting with their medium. The pacing, too, is noteworthy: by the time the album approaches the steaming and fang-ridden centerpiece “Century Eyes,” a full five tracks of cat-and-mouse dynamics have drifted by like ships in the night, and the sudden change is at once both unexpected and welcome. The sole voice resounding, “tear it off!/tear it off!” easily outshines the thick vocal arrangements of the neo-Wilson era, at least in 2008.

It was once said that writing about music is like dancing about architecture. When one hears Rook and is enveloped by its subtle craft and careful arrangement, they encounter a consonance with the distant haze of this other world, and are ineffably satisfied.

Recommended tracks: “Leviathan, Bound;” “Century Eyes;” “The Snow Leopard”

Honorable Mentions:

Mogwai – The Hawk is Howling

More classic, spacey tension from some of the best in their field. Mogwai continue to impress with impassioned performances and thundering dynamics. If instrumental music continues to push boundaries the way bands like this one (and Sigur Ros, Eluvium, Ratatat, Lightning Bolt, Explosions In The Sky, etc.) have, we have a lot to look forward to.

Recommended tracks: “I’m Jim Morrison, I’m Dead;” “I Love You, I’m Going To Blow Up Your School;” “The Precipice”

Wolf Parade – At Mount Zoomer

Much as the cover of this album is a collaboration between two artists, Wolf Parade’s songwriting and singing are shared duties, which brings a refreshing duality to their albums; Krug’s reverbbed voice and tinkling keys (“Bang Your Drum”) against Boeckner’s unfettered vocals and riffy strummings (“The Grey Estates”) make for an album that doesn’t overstay its welcome in any one area.

At Mount Zoomer is hardly a sophomore slump to Apologies to the Queen Mary, and “Soldier’s Grin” is among the best songs released in 2008.

Recommended tracks: “Soldier’s Grin;” “Call It A Ritual;” “Bang Your Drum”

Shugo Tokomaru – Exit

Dense and layered, Exit is a great pop album that certainly bears the marks of a Japanese pop artist, with its wide spectrum of instrumentation, peppered English phrases, and tight production. This album doesn’t smack of J-Pop, however, and shouldn’t just appeal to that crowd. It falls closer to the production style of Quruli or Kazuyoshi Saito, in that it’s best described as great music that’s simply sung in Japanese.

Recommended tracks: “Parachute;” “Green Rain;” “Wedding”

Elbow – The Seldom Seen Kid

Elbow have a great record on their hands. It’s not only got really great songcraft and tremendous vocal work from bandleader Guy Garvey, but it’s got — for a late-career pop record — some of the most unusual and creative timbres in terms of accompaniment; it’s a heartening thing to witness when so many groups attempt to compensate for a lack of clear artistic direction with “heart” and “maturity.” This smart Britpop album is virtually brimming with romance and heartache, and is well worth a listen or two.

Recommended tracks: “Mirrorball;” “An Audience With The Pope;” “Friend of Ours”

Ratatat – LP3

LP3 is somewhat less wide-appeal than Ratatat and Classics, which feature a lot of straight-ahead layered guitar parts with some truly stunning harmonies. Instead, the Brookyln-based duo has opted to plant one foot firmly in some experimental polyrhythms and tones (“Mumtaz Khan,” “Mirando”) before tearing the guitars out and shredding. Notably, “Imperials” has some beautiful key pyrotechnics not previously seen on any Ratatat record.

As a result of these things, the album might perhaps be less danceable as their previous two, but certainly not any less rich. The tracks also tend to be shorter, which is an improvement, being that some of the four- and five-minute tracks on early songs started to lose steam on those late-breaking choruses. LP3, by comparison, doesn’t linger too long; it’s an album of evident maturation for Ratatat.

Recommended tracks: “Falcon Jab;” “Mirando;” “Imperials”

The Week That Was – The Week That Was

A thoroughly ambitious and raucous debut from a great band. There’s a lot of great cohesive energy on The Week That Was that flows in abundance from their live shows, as well. Sharp call-and-answer and intertwining strains of shadowy harmony characterize the entirety of the album; it’s a horror-tunnel of rich textural interplay. Although sadly it appears to have been overlooked by the greater critical community, you’re better informed than they are, aren’t you?

Recommended tracks: “Learn to Learn;” “The Good Life;” “Scratch The Surface”

The Raconteurs – Consolers of the Lonely

The Raconteurs are among the best remaining rock and roll bands in America. Songwriting duo Brendan Benson and Jack White are steeped in talent, penning straight ahead rockers (“Salute Your Solution,” “Attention”), bluesy jaunts (“Top Yourself,” “Rich Kid Blues”), and even a six-minute rural southern epic (“Carolina Drama”). The visceral punch lacking in Broken Boy Soldiers is found here, as the Greenhornes’ rhythm section is better-represented. It really gives the music some meat to back up the screeching wail of the guitar solos. While this group may echo Stripesman White more than anyone else, it feels like the muscular work of a band having fun as the great songwriters that they are.

Recommended tracks: “Consoler Of The Lonely;” “Salute Your Solution;” “Attention”

1.Dodos: Visiter
2.Frightened Rabbit: The Midnight Organ Fight
3.No Age: Nouns
4.Balmorhea: Rivers Arms
5.Beach House: Devotion
6.Samamidon: All is Well
7.Martha Wainwright: Know you’re Married But I’ve Got Feelings Too
8.Wolf Parade: At Mount Zoomer
9.Be Your Own Pet: Get Awkward
10.The Raconteurs: Consolers of the Lonely

Number 40

Wolf Parade had a lot to live up to with their second full-length, At Mount Zoomer. Following one of the most talked about debuts in indie rock over the last few years (the Isaac Brock-produced Apologies To The Queen Mary, of course) put both a lot of pressure on the group, and anticipation in the hands of every eager fan foaming at the mouth for an encore. Still, I had every bit of reason to believe Wolf Parade could somehow muster up a terrific sophomore, because I believe anything Spencer Krug’s puts his mind to can be molded into genius. For half of Mount Zoomer, there is a captured brilliance; but then the second half of the album, although good, fails to build on the fantastic opening half. I have absolutely nothing against the co-primary writer of the group, Handsome Furs’ Dan Boeckner, it’s just that he in no way can hold a candle to the phenomenon that is Krug, and the songs have an obvious lesser quality to them when he takes the lead on Zoomer, which happens just a tad too much and keeps it from ultimately making its way higher on this list. But the top half of the record makes a good enough case to solidify the album as a very good one, and although I have secretly leaned toward the dream of hopping in a time machine and somehow convincing these Canadian boys to release just the first five tracks as an EP and call it a day, I finally decided that I do like the second half, it’s just that the opening side is too good to even recollect what happens over the last four numbers. Plus, there’s just a lack of Krug in the final half, which doesn’t spell disaster but hurts. As it turns out, there wasn’t as much pressure on following up Apologies as there was the challenge of making Zoomer live up to At Mount…and oh what an opener this one has.

1.Soldier’s Grin
2.Call It A Ritual
3.Language City
4.Bang Your Drum
5.California Dreamer
6.The Grey Estates
7.Fine Young Cannibals
8.An Animal In Your Cave
9.Kissing the Beehive

Allright. Nu är det dags att blogga musik! Jag är nog vad man skulle kalla en musiknörd.. Så vad passar bättre?

Skivan jag tänkte skriva om heter som rubriken At mount Zoomer och bandet ifråga är Wolf Parade.

Låt oss skaffa lite bakgrundsfakta om gruppen först! Tycker att det är rätt viktigt då man sätter sig in i musik… man förstår det så mycket bättre =)

Wolf parade är ett kanadensiskt band som startade sin bana 2003. Bandet består av 5 medlemmar som Sporadiskt stuffades ihop när Spencer Krug (Keyboard, sång) vart erbjuden ett gig av Alex Megelas på Grenadine Records. Hela historien är helt absurd och mycket läsvärd! Jag tänker inte gå så djupt men hela historien finns att läsa här

Bandet har släppt totalt 5 skivor sen 2003 varav 3 är fullängdare och 2 är Ep´s….. Shit. jag somnar nästan själv när jag läser detta.. förlåt kära läsare! men the message måste ut!

Hursom. Tidigare skivor är iallafall: Wolf Parade Ep1, Wolf Parade Ep2, Wolf Parade (fullängdare) samt Apologies to queen mary (vilket var skivan som gjorde att jag upptäckte bandet)

Tyvärr (eller kanske bara that’s life) så har dessa gossar hamnat i skuggan av indiemonstret/fenomenet Arcade fire som även dom kommer från Kanada (och som undertecknad är stoor fan av)

Trots Ripoff/bakvattenstämpeln som jag får känslan av att dom ibland har så tycker jag dom bör lyftas upp till ytan! speciellt eftersom dom i år släppt ny skiva. Nåt som inte Arcade har gjort och inte heller verkar komma att göra på ett bra tag.. längtar/väntar på det.

Skivan är ju då som jag skrev förut At mount Zoomer och är rätt så lättlyssnad men det finns mycket att upptäcka i detta lilla kanadensiska universum! Överlag så gillar jag soundet på skivan med en hel del synthar uppblandat med goa o snygga riff. Rått fast mer nertonat sen “Apologies to queen mary”. Gruppen har klart utvecklats sen förra skivan och dom har en mycket finare ton och känsla för melodier. Desperationen från förra skivan kan ibland saknas… men samtidigt är det rättså skönt att inte ha en sångare som låter som att han går på knark 24/7 jämt, jämt, jämt..

Favvospår hittils är California dreaming.. Absolut väldigt bra desperadoindie när den är som bäst.

Humor har bandet också! Roligaste textraden på länge är denna från Kissing the beehive:

I wish I could believe in you
Crashing all the weddings wearing white
But we all hate the landlord baby
It’s all right, it’s all right
I wish I could believe in who you are
You held your cock in the air and you called it a guitar
You put your face on the glass and you called it good cinema, oh
As if you didn’t know that it would sting

Och den vackraste på skivan är den här från the grey estate:

Darling please, let’s get out of here
On a train to who knows where
I’ve got a feeling that I can’t explain
We had to leave this place, we won’t go back again
Getting tired of landscapes, we’re just floating
Rolling past the grey estates

What put the fire in his stomach out?
What moved its hands all across your mouth?
Out through the window let the neon sing
In place of telegraphs that don’t mean a thing
And we crawled off to our destination
Rolling past the grey estates

Hur ska jag sy ihop detta då? Jo.. Jag gillar skivan… och den som gillar Arcade fire eller helt enkelt bara bra musik borde gilla den med. Och jag tycker att ni gör rätt i att besöka sajterna här under i rätt ordning.

Först! Sök upp och lyssna igenom skivan på Grooveshark.com (vilket är en sjukt bra musiktjänst som till råga på allt är gratis)

Sen! Köp eller ladda ner.

Köpa? då går ni hit.

Fuska? Ja då går ni hit istället.

Over and out. Puss och snusk.

Sometimes live music has the ability to be bigger than itself. Bigger than the band, bigger than the audience, bigger than what’s happening right before one’s eyes. At the Majestic in Madison, WI, Wolf Parade managed to do just that on November 10, 2008.

Throughout the evening, Wolf Parade whipped out jam after jam, keeping the energy consistently high. The Majestic was packed with rabid fans, each opening note eliciting an impassioned cheer from the crowd. The five gents of Wolf Parade were clearly enjoying themselves, often thanking the crowd and graciously accepting the adulation. Adulation that was well-deserved – “Language City”, “I’ll Believe in Anything”, “Fine Young Cannibals”, and “Kissing the Beehive” were all absolutely ridiculous in the best possible way.

Be you a huge fan or curious newcomer, Wolf Parade has the chops and panache to elevate the evening into a transcendent experience. Live, the songs are utterly danceable and more multi-dimensional than their canned counterparts (which are, by the way, quite lovely). It is not often a performance can make your heart feel at once completely filled and impossibly light, but as was proved yesterday, is something that is entirely possible.

I’m so near the halfway point in my documentation of every album I buy this year. Appropriate time as any to rechristen this project the “Year in Albums”, since I’m finding a hard time limiting myself to download purchases. I’m still buying CDs, can you believe?

• Silver Jews – Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea Somewhere along the way, I get it in my head that Cassie Berman was destined to be the Linda McCartney of this band that I like. It may have been an off night or bad sound, but at one show I saw she came across as pretty but also as the band’s tuneless weak link. After one listen of the new album, I know either I was way wrong or she got way better. She is now the absolute highlight. There’s the usual tossed-off witty Berman wordplay (“Romance is the douche of the bourgeoisie/Was the very first thing she imparted to me”; “Things get kind of squirrely when you’re sleeping in the park”; “We could be looking for the same thing, if you’re looking for someone,” etc). But her vocals bring the emotive that nicely contrasts with Dave’s deadpan on “Suffering Jukebox” and others, which actually saves the album from cleverness (a fatal opponent in Silver Jews discography).
• Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti – Underground Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti “Underground” is like an A-Team episode, but instead of the A-Team stuck in the garage, it’s Stephen Merritt stuck in a half-functioning 70’s-era studio. And the plan that comes together isn’t a souped-up beater with a bunch crap welded to it, but an album of catchy oddball pop songs but made from the beat-up crap you’d find in said studio. It borders unlistenable, but it’s still fun.
• The Dodos – Visitor I like it, but I have a heard time coming up with anything to say about it. I think because I’m trying the same thing they’re doing, so as their choices are awesome, they’re also self-evident to me. There are great vocals, stripped down instrument-wise to guitar and assorted rhythm toys. A great summer album.
• Fleet Foxes – Fleet Foxes What a bunch of softies. I kind of want to get these boys into a gym or arm-wrestle them or something. The interplay of voices is awesome and pretty, but I haven’t ever wanted to listen to old Rollins Band albums until I sat through these guys. It’s great for Grandmas and people actually living in Cincinnatti.
• Wolf Parade – At Mount Zoomer My socks are still securely on after listening to this, and I can’t say they were after listening to their first one. But still, I like it. But that “California Dreamer” song is terrible. What the hell are California dreams?
• Cursive – The Ugly Organ This is an older album and I bought after seeing Cursive live. I don’t know why I stayed away from Cursive for so long. I really liked “Happy Hollow” and I think Tim Kasher’s sadder side-project The Good Life has put out two top notch albums. I kept them from the full embrace they deserved after they got coded “emo” in my head. I have been so brave this month overcoming my wrong impressions. This album is a freaking indictment of the “emo” bs (“I want to entertain/but they want pain” or something like that). Get ready for the full Grity embrace, buddies.
• Sarabeth Tucek – Sarabeth Tucek I’m a sucker for this longing pretty lady shtick. The Heather Novas and the Cat Powers will get me. Sarabeth is in their league. May have too much of a resemblance to be remembered though. It may take some time to hear some nuances.
• The Ruby Suns – Sea Lion I love albums like these. Listenable, but strange. Like a Caribbean Yo La Tengo, but way more emphasis on rhythm. Not that this would mean anything to you, but I had a perfect moment with this album driving out of Chicago at dusk into a pink urban sky

Holy mole. I might be done for these past 3 months. I think. Oh wait. Got the new Pinback album. Crap…and The Kills and The Eternals (that’s a funny pair). And Portishead. And for some reason, Jay-Z. And I’m sure some other less noteworthies.

Wolf Parade’s At Mount Zoomer is weird and nuanced and filled with bizarre energy. For the most part this works for them, but occasionally it works against.

At Mount Zoomer starts strong with the synth-accented 3/4 swirl of “Soldier’s Grin”, which builds to an impassioned release. The skipping piano march and hollowed-out vocals of “Call It A Ritual” continue to please. Zoomer also ends strong with the reigned-in 80s vibe of “Fine Young Cannibals” that would do Hall & Oates proud, and the grandiose epic that is “Kissing the Beehive”.

Though their quirkiness is part of their charm, Wolf Parade gets a bit too weird for the less-adventurous listener. Misplaced pop (“The Grey Estates”), a lengthly retro organ jam (“California Dreamer”), and an odd dance (“Bang Your Drum”) work together to make the middle of the album a little off-putting for the more sober among us.

This murky ground can be ignored, however, by the inclusion of “Language City” – a track that is earnest, stark at points, but still teeming with movement and warmth – and “An Animal in Your Care”, which begins relaxed and pretty but grows into a fierce declaration.

–

At Mount Zoomer dropped 06/17/08.
Get downloads and more from Wolf Parade’s Sub Pop page.

Dass sich Kanada in den letzten Jahren zu einer Brutstätte begnadeter Indie-Folk-Rocker entwickelt hat ist spätestens seit The Arcade Fire niemandem neu. Das Faszinierendste an der Musiklandschaft ist wohl, dass sich offensichtlich all diese Bands unter einander kennen und in verschiedenen Besetzungen mal bei der ein oder anderen Band auch Mitglied waren, so hat auch beispielsweise der Drummer von Wolf Parade vorher auf dem The Arcade Fire Debüt beim Song “Wake Up” getrommelt – Gitarrist und Keyboarder waren zuvor Mitglieder der Frog Eyes. So war der Erfolg des 2005er Wolf Parade Debütalbums “Apologies to the Queen Mary” eigentlich auch vorprogrammiert.

Wölfe sind bekanntlich Rudeltiere, so machen Wolf Parade wie das zu erwarten ist auch sehr gesellige Musik. Auf dem Debütalbum warteten sie mit einer sehr gelungenen Interpretation von The Arcade Fire vermischt mit allerlei Keyboard / Synthie Spielereien auf, die Erwartungen an den Nachfolger da natürlich groß. So haben sich Wolf Parade auch drei Jahre Zeit mit dem Release ihres zweiten Albums gelassen, um als Ergebnis ein Album zu veröffentlichen, auf das sie gleichermaßen stolz sein können und das in der Lage ist den Erfolg des Debüts zu wiederholen. Das Ergebnis kann sich nun auch sehen lassen. Das ist wieder gut gelaunter Indie-Folk-Rock im Windschatten von The Arcade Fire aber eigentlich völlig anders. The Arcade Fire drängt sich einfach förmlich als Vergleich auf, die haben nämlich die gleiche treibende Energie, bei der man einfach mit muss – hinzu kommt noch, dass “At Mount Zoomer” in der Kirche aufgenommen wurde, in der auch The Aracade Fire ihr Zweitwerk “Neon Bible” aufgenommen haben. Das Album ist wieder ein bunter Mix aus verspielten Gitarren, Keyboard- und Synthie-Spielereien und zackigen Indieklängen – in wenigen Worten: kanadischer Indierock mit Chorgesang. Das Album macht einfach Spaß und bietet viele Hits, die im Sommer zum Dauerbrenner in Indiediscos zu werden könnten, z.B. “Language City”, ein Britpop-Hit der so ähnlich auch von Razorlight hätte veröffentlicht werden können, toll auch das fröhlich quietschende “The Grey Estates” mit gut gelauntem Keyboard. Wenn Wolf Parade live das halten, was das Album verspricht sollte man sich die anstehenden Tourtermine auf jeden Fall fett im Kalender markieren.

Iain WhiteTapes

Fleet Foxes – “Fleet Foxes”
Nota: 4 / 5

“Harmonia” é a palavra-chave no álbum de estréia do Fleet Foxes – banda de Seatlle, berço da música grunge nos anos 1980 e 90. Apesar dos cabelos compridos e da barba, o som do quinteto não tem nada com comum com Nirvana, Soundgarden e cia. O Fleet Foxes lançou o disco homônimo na esteira da renascença da folk music no cenário da música independente americana e desponta como um dos candidatos a revelação do ano. Com uma influência musical variada – que vai de Neil Young a Beach Boys – o grupo se aproxima do som feito por artistas recentes como Band of Horses e Iron & Wine.

A harmonia musical é o objetivo descrito pela própria banda e se traduz em um som classificado pelos músicos como “barroco”. A voz de Robin Pecknold é praticamente mais um instrumento na busca por esse estilo e ajuda a construir melodias simples, mas meticulosamente arranjadas. É o caso de “Tiger Mountain Peasant Song”, uma canção comovente que faz uma reflexão sobre a mortalidade em um ambiente bucólico criado pela letra que fala de pássaros, da grama e do ar gelado da montanha.

Os campos, as florestas e o ambiente de calmaria são os cenários comuns das faixas do disco, mas as letras não se resumem a isso e também tratam de temas cotidianos. Por vezes, são canções sem sentido algum e servem só como veículo para a tal harmonia musical e vocal prometida pela banda. “White Winter Hymnal”, o hit do álbum, cria uma imagem cheia de cores e ação sem significar absolutamente nada, como descreveu o próprio vocalista. Como em outras faixas, o canto em coro e a melodia simples (mas forte) dão conta do recado.

Ouça “White Winter Hymnal”

Ouça “He Doesn’t Know Why”

<<ss>>

Wolf Parade – “At Mount Zoomer”
Nota: 3,5 / 5

Os primeiros acordes de “At Mount Zoomer”, segundo disco da banda canadense Wolf Parade, indicam que a música do grupo não é mais a mesma do álbum de estréia, “Apologies to the Queen Mary” (2005). Fica claro que o quinteto deixou de lado a bateria nervosa, as guitarras distorcidas e o vocal agressivo. Pode-se até perceber que a letra de “Soldier’s Grin”, cantada docemente por Dan Boeckner, traz uma visão otimista em um cenário pós-apocalíptico. Não à toa, a canção é considerada a mais acessível da carreira da banda.

É claro que a faixa de abertura sozinha não é referência para o tom de todo o álbum, mas “At Mount Zoomer” está, de fato, mais melódico. É impossível ouvir os gritos quase maníacos de Spencer Krug, como em “I’ll Believe in Anything” – o que não significa que o trabalho seja ruim. Pelo contrário. O segundo disco do Wolf Parade é uma prova de que a banda consegue se sustentar muito bem sem a influência de Isaac Brock – cantor e compositor do Modest Mouse, que produziu o primeiro disco dos canadenses.

“At Mount Zoomer” é um projeto ambicioso que mostra uma vontade proposital de ser diferente. As nove canções do disco mostram um Wolf Parade que segue em direção à evolução e a um som aprimorado, como prova a faixa “Language City”. Se “Apologies to the Queen Mary” chamou atenção pelas batidas caóticas e pelo vocal tumultuado (no bom sentido), o segundo álbum traz um estilo mais sofisticado, mais bem comportado. O melhor mesmo é esquecer as comparações e encarar os dois discos como obras distintas – duas boas obras distintas.

Ouça “Language City”

Ouça “Call it a Ritual”

Hey everyone,

Wolf Parade’s latest release, At Mount Zoomer, is incredible. I am hooked and I like to see the Canadians leading the procession. My two favourite tracks are “Call it a Ritual” and “Language City.” Check em out below.

Call it a Ritual

Language City

The God Warrior for the week of June 29 is Spencer Krug.

(Photo lifted from the Wolf Parade site)

Lately, Spencer Krug has been a bit of a baller. Yeah, yeah, fellow Wolf Parader Dan Boeckner has his little thing goin’ on in Handsome Furs, but it doesn’t hold a candle to any of Krug’s laundry list of legit side-projects. Krug’s contributions to Sunset Rubdown are undeniably outstanding, and he totally kicks ass as a member of both Frog Eyes and Swan Lake. However, currently he is receiving major props for the new Wolf Parade album, At Mount Zoomer. To me, the album is kind of like a balance between his weirder, more experimental work in Frog Eyes/Sunset Rubdown and the calm, earnest sound of Swan Lake.  Hopefully y’all out there likes what you hears!

The sophomore slump is a difficult trend to circumvent as a band, and Wolf Parade has only slightly overcome the challenge. With their latest, At Mount Zoomer, named after the church it was recorded in, the Wolf Parade has definitely slowed to more of a walk. Mellower music has as good a potential to be amazing as any, but when a high energy band sacrifices such energy for a slower sound, that is when we run into problems. Apologies to the Queen Mary was full of life. You can feel the power with every listen, from the clashing drums on “You are a Runner, and I am my Father’s Son” to the album’s finish. With Mount Zoomer, the rabid Wolves have noticeably calmed. The sound remains very much Wolf Parade–overpowering synth, pianos, high speed licking elctro-infused guitars, and of course, those hoarse but pleasant vocals– retaining their unique and great qualities, but it doesn’t necessarily draw the listener in with its pure energy, like its predecessor. It is more than adequate, but has fewer hi-lights. Mt. Zoomer is definitely worth a good amount of your time, but unless it grows on me I think I’ll stick to accepting their apologies.

Wolf Parade are back! Their new album is called At Mount Zoomer and they have a whole slew of dates in July all over North America, so chances are you can get a live sample of the new album in the very near future. Upon first listen, I like it. I’ve always had this negative association with Wolf Parade as the band that threw shit at G. Love & Special Sauce at the Osheaga Festival in the summer of 2006 in Montreal (My hometown). But once I get passed that, the truth is that they make some pretty good music. My song of the week is my immediate favourite off of the new album. It may just be the catchiest song on the album, and I may come to have many other favourites (or none at all), but for right now, it’s California Dreamer. Enjoy!

Wolf Parade – California Dreamer

Rating: C
Score: 6.5

the latest effort from wolf parade is no toothless walk in the park. it represents a stylistic and songwriting evolution–one where the two main songwriters, spencer krug and dan boeckner, share songwriting duties instead of going with a more purely krug-driven affair. both songsmiths like to show the loot of their travels here. boeckner’s ability seems freshly energized from last year’s decent handsome furs outing, and close listens reveal experimental twinges that krug pulls from his swan lake explorations and his full-on prog theatrics under the guise of sunset rubdown. at mount zoomer seems saturated with the prog maximalism that drenches the latter’s random spirit lover, but while that record shined from consistent arching genius squeezed out through the pander of pompous repitition and wicked poetic flights, mount zoomer seems torn between the inner dork and the inner hipster, and comes off more complicated yet somehow at least half empty. what is possesses in energy and craft it gives away due to a sort of wandering pointlessness to its many overindulgent songs, and while it’s easy to cry “overindulgence!” for any effort so thoroughly prog-tinged, in this case the occasional use of occam’s razor and putting too fine a point on things might have served them well. sort of like this review.

that’s not to say that mount zoomer doesn’t have its moments, and it could be that i’m too familiar now with sunset rubdown and i’m tiring of pretentious if catchy neo-prog indie rock hybrid excavations. so taking my own position with a grain of salt, i’m going to keep an open mind toward this one and compliment them on some of their more direct goodies–”call it a ritual,” “language city,” and “an animal in your care,” and let the more ridiculous confections cool for now. hopefully i’m writing prematurely and still really just wrestling with this one as i did with sunset rubdown’s shut up i am dreaming from a few years ago, but at mount zoomer seems like the work of two songwriters too occupied with their own visions to remember how to collaborate and drive toward a unified finish. maybe this is just a bad blip on the radar, because wolf parade is sure as hell one of the most refreshing and original bands around–when they remember to write lean songs and don’t forget the punctuation.

This is the four-disc soundtrack from Keith and my drive from New York this weekend. We’ve got a very persnickety CD player that only plays what it wants to play when it wants to play it, which limits our choices quite a bit. On the drive in, we listened to Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter III, Spiritualized’s Songs in A&E and Old Crow Medicine Show’s Big Iron World.

In case you can’t read my handwriting, here’s the list in type — though I will say that, in my defense, it was a very bumpy drive.

World Without Tears — Lucinda Williams

Raising Sand — Robert Plant and Alison Krauss

At Mount Zoomer — Wolf Parade

Fleet Foxes — Fleet Foxes

I have mixed feelings about Montreal based band Wolf Parade’s new album, At Mount Zoomer. On the one hand, there’s no one single track that grabs me the way “Shine A Light” did off their debut, Apologies to the Queen Mary, but that said, there is some really good material to be found on this nine track followup, which culminates with a nearly 11 minute track that also happens to be one of the highlights, “Kissing The Beehive.” The Modest Mouse influence on their guitar based indie rock can still be heard, albeit somewhat less faintly, as some mild prog and psychedelic rock influences have crept into their sound, too. Other highlights here include “Language City,” “The Grey Estates” and “An Animal In Your Care,” so, time-wise, the highlights constitute the greater part of the album. The tracks that didn’t do much for me seemed a bit shapeless and weren’t nearly as engaging, though they were as passionately played and sung as the tracks I did like. I hesitate to call this a sophomore slump, as it’s clear the band is trying out new directions, but listeners looking for some of the infectious hooks the first album contained may be initially disappointed with this new release.

http://www.myspace.com/wolfparade