Yes, Isaac Brock discovered them and brought them to
Sub Pop. Yes, he produced their debut album. And, yes,
they sound like Modest Mouse.
But there's more: Wolf Parade are good. No, they're
really good.
How can a band sound a lot like another band, a
one-of-a-kind one at that, and come away making you
forget it matters? By being themselves.
And this doesn't always mean trying
to make something brand new. For the members of Wolf
Parade — vocalist/guitarist Dan Boeckner,
keyboardist/electronics manipulator Hadji Bakara,
keyboardist/vocalist Spencer King and drummer Arlen
Thompson — this means being honest about who they
and what their inspirations are. And if anything
translates into good music, it's honesty.
Clearly, Modest Mouse inspired Wolf Parade's debut album,
Apologies to the Queen Mary, but the Montreal
band expressed enough true emotion on their album and have enough unique
talent to
make you forget all about Modest Mouse.
From the first few seconds of the album, you're
hooked. The hard drumming, so precise and
heavy, beckons you to march in tune on opening track
"You Are a Runner and I Am My Father's Son" before it
transitions into guitar feedback and distorted
electronics. "Grounds for Divorce" most recalls Modest
Mouse for Boeckner's Brock-like vocals, which cascade to
hiccuping heights over spastic rhythms, ringing
guitar and beats that chug like an oxygen machine on
overdrive.
"Dinner Bells" is a sleepy, slow-paced
track carried by a steady simple beat, gentle,
ringing guitar, an occasional flute whistle and
Boeckner's strained, brokenhearted yelp: "There'll be
no more dinner bells/ Dinner bells to ring," he
sings, sounding worn and weary.
The aptly titled
closer "This Hearts on Fire" is the most emotional
track on Apologies with its fevered builds,
swift, pumping beats, and impassioned chorus with Boeckner so
fired up it sounds like his voice got beat up and scratchy in the
process. "It's getting better all the time," he sings
fervently, "It's getting better all the time." Play
Wolf Parade again — you'll most definitely want to —
and you'll see it certainly is.
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