Last fall, an album was released that shook the indie community to its core, starting a whirlwind of hype, excitement, and admiration that has yet to die down. The album was Funeral, and the band was The Arcade Fire. The album was so perfect in its display of emotion and pop orchestration that it left listeners shocked and amazed. Since then, Montreal has become the new media hotspot, and music listeners everywhere have been left wondering, “Who’s the next Arcade Fire?” Well ladies and gentlemen, I have your answer. Wolf Parade.
Formed in 2003, the band consists of Dan Boeckner, Spencer Krug, Hadji Bakara, and Arlen Thompson , who use guitars, keyboards, percussion, and vocals to create hauntingly beautiful indie rock songs. The guitars fuzz and strum minor chord arpeggios, the keyboards eerily fill in the space behind and up front. The centerpiece of the concoction are Boeckner and Krug’s vocals, which quaver throughout the songs, usually in unison, creating a mixture of David Byrne and Isaac Brock(who produced the album and got the band their record deal with sub pop.) His voice gently flies over the instruments, completing a sound of pure pop perfection. For the most part, the songs are just a few bars short of perfect. The opener, “You Are A Runner And I Am My Father's Son” features an on-and-off percussion/keyboard rhythm that sets the background for Krug’s high pitched yelp. “Modern world” slows it down a bit, and switches to acoustics, as Boeckner says, “Modern world/ you just bring me down.” On “Fancy claps” brisk guitars and keys keep their pace throughout the song while the whole band Harmonizes to create an almost ghostly aesthetic. The album reaches its pinnacle on its best track, “I’ll believe in anything.” Guitars and keys trade off the main hook as Krug chants “I’ll believe in anything/ if you’ll believe in anything.” The song continues to crescendo, going higher and higher, until the song just cant contain itself. It reaches its height, and flattens out with Krug repeating “Nobody knows you/ and nobody gives a damn.” It is quite possibly one of the best indie rock songs released since last year’s, Funeral.
With an already large amount of hype amassing, and a critically acclaimed EP released earlier this year, Wolf Parade seems likely to also achieve the success of their Neighbors, The Arcade Fire. And rightfully so, Apologies to the Queen Mary is the album that fans have been waiting for. It’s a magnificently assembled mesh of great song writing, and great talent, that leaves you satisfied after listening, yet dying for more. |