Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer - Sub-Pop - 2008

At the start of the new year 2008 there were really two main albums that I was anticipating in the upcoming year more than any others: Wolf Parade’s new album, which came to be known as “At Mount Zoomer”, and Of Montreal’s record, which will drop in October. So even before this album was announced I was heavily anticipating it, having just seen the band back in September where they played the majority of these songs, and they just blew my mind. Well, I’m happy to say that they have certainly delivered on this album and lived up to my high expectations, and the album is every bit as great as I thought it would be. It takes the shorter, more poppy bite-sized nuggets kind of sound from their last record and expands it into a long-form sprawling indie rock album, and certainly shows a depth and creativity that I don’t think was really showcased as much on their debut effort.

Where most of the songs on “Apologies” were fairly short, most clock in right around 3 minutes, here most of the songs take on a more meandering, exploratory ethic and they take their time fully fleshing out the songs on this album. I think it works extremely well, though it is certainly a departure from their previous album, which may throw some people off. The opening track “Soldier’s Grin” is fantastic, and I remember this one really well from their show last year. It helps showcase the way that they are taking more time with the songs, and also doing a lot more of changing tempos within songs and putting in long outro/breakdown segments into the songs that really have a lot of the songs building and getting louder and more intense as they head towards their finish. “Language City” is a truly awesome song as well and is another situation where the song builds and grows as it progresses towards the end, resulting in a simply great finish.

I think what I love about this album is that they have really taken a step back and fleshed out these songs almost to perfection, and they really have captured a lot more energy and creativity in this release. “Bang Your Drum” and “California Dreamer” are a couple of very different sounding songs in the middle of the album that would sound completely out of place on “Apologies”, but they work perfectly here. “California Dreamer” especially showcases this albums groovier kind of sound. On the previous album they didn’t really have songs that had a kind of driving groovy bassline and beat, but here they do, and the song almost sounds like a Doors song, or at least will make you think of that west coast 70s psychedelic kind of sound. It is really good. These songs also show the darker side of the band that comes out on this album. There are not really poppy uptempo kinds of songs that were all over “Apologies”. There is much more exploration of the material into much darker musical areas and sounds, but without sounding gloomy. It always sounds really fresh and cool to me.

“The Grey Estates” is one of the more uptempo songs here, and is one of the shorter, but they show that even in these shorter songs they have the build and tempo/chord change at the end to end the song on a high note. But that tempo is short lived as they bring a really great slow jam with “Fine Young Cannibals” right after that. Similar to the “California Dreaming” track, this track is just a slowly building slow groove that is perfectly layered and built from start to finish. Great track. “An Animal In Your Case” is an offbeat freeform sounding kind of song that would probably fit in on “Apologies”, but it also works here, since they flesh it out towards the end and really bring it into their new style with the piano and guitar riff, which is great. The album finishes out with “Kissing The Beehive”, an 11 minute jam that kind of perfectly embodies the new style of this record versus the last one. There are some guitar riffs and hooks thrown in there along with everything you can imagine. These last two songs show the progression perfectly, from a more offbeat general sound/style with more structured songs to a more traditional sound/style with less structured, more exploratory songs.

Their appeal to me has always been their way to combine offbeat instruments and sounds together in a way that no one would really think of naturally, but they make it sound completely natural and awesome. I think this album really shows that off incredibly well. It sounds like an album where they really had the freedom to do what they wanted to with it, and it really highlights their great songwriting and musical ability. When you see their live show there are moments where each member is highlighted and then they kind of slowly combine and each one jumps in and builds on each other until it is this musical awesomeness that explodes all over your face, and that is what this album sounds like to me. They really are one of those bands that skirts the line between an “indie” sound and a melodious/catchier sound absolutely perfectly in my opinion.

The instruments and vocals on this album are not as processed and edgy sounding as the last record. The instruments have a more traditional sound, but the songs themselves have become much more epic and free flowing. It compares much more closely to their live sound. I think it is an awesome step forward for the band, and I loved the fuck out of all these songs when I heard them last year, and I love the fuck out of them right now. This is just an incredible album by one of the best bands going out there today. I think some people who have latched on to the sound of “Apologies” might be disappointed by this release, since they didn’t try to duplicate it in any way at all. But I think in so doing, they have made a record that sounds more uniquely them, and fits their style as a band much better. It is a much better showcase for the talent that these guys have, and I can’t wait to see them play it live again coming up this summer.

BV Rate: 93

You can stream the whole album here and decide for yourself.

They of course have a bunch of tour dates this summer (I will be at the Chicago show at least, so excited):

July 7 - Pontiac, MI @ Crofoot Ballroom
July 8 - Chicago, IL @ House Of Blues
July 9 - Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
July 12 - Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
July 13 - Seattle, WA @ Marymoor Park
July 15 - Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
July 17 - San Francisco, CA @ Fillmore
July 18 - Hollywood, CA @ Henry Fonda
July 19 - Hollywood, CA @ Henry Fonda
July 20 - San Diego, CA @ Cane’s
July 21 - Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theatre
July 24 - Dallas, TX @ Palladium Ballroom
July 25 - Austin, TX @ La Zona Rosa
July 26 - Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon
July 28 - Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
July 29 - Raleigh, NC @ Disco Rodeo
July 30 - Philly, PA @ Electric Factory
July 31 - New York, NY @ Terminal 5
Aug 2 - Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
Aug 3 - Montreal, QC @ Metropolis
Aug 9 - Toronto, ON @ Koolhaus

Wolf Parade - Soldier’s Grin - From At Mount Zoomer
Wolf Parade - Language City - From At Mount Zoomer