wolf parade - apologies to the queen mary
“Hot New Shit” or just “shit”? Sure, I’ll give you that they share Montreal as a hometown with the Arcade Fire, and maybe the fact that they both have a distinct, catchy take on indie-rock, and sure, I’ll even concede that they both released execellent albums in the first week of September (the ‘Fire in ‘04). But really, don’t expect Wolf Parade to get you your next girlfriend or give you a poppy dirge.
“Apologies…” is the tale of two songwriters with pretty distinct styles, but you wouldn’t really know that from the first or even second listen. In fact, though the vocals alternate between the two on every other track, the angular, keyboard-and-guitar-driven hooks of every song are familiar and completely distinguishable from one another at the same time. “We Built Another World” sounds a lot like I wished the Constantines would at times, whereas “Fancy Claps” is like the fully-orchestrated Unicorns song that never was, cascading synths and all. Other notable tracks: the acoustic-but-not-jammy “Modern World” and “Grounds for Divorce”, which has an awkwardly tumbly synth bass line that somehow is transformed into the greatest hook of the album.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you though when you try and bridge the gap between this stellar band and their Canadien colleagues. Eyes will surely roll.