Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer

For the past five years, Canada has been a prolific breeding ground for hidden gems in the indie-rock scene. Bands such as Arcade Fire, Tegan and Sara, and Broken Social Scene have opened the scribble covered door of Canadian indie-rock to more “under the radar” listeners. Montréal’s Wolf Parade has been ringing in the ears of the Canadian rock scene following the release of Apologies to the Queen Mary in 2005.

At Mount Zoomer shares a development of maturity and experimentation in Wolf Parade’s sound this time around. Their keyboard heavy, post-punk experiment has seemed to evolved into a gloomy pop-like folklore. Their sophomore release stands solid without the comfortable anthem formula most bands comfortably abide by .They have worked their way to a great follow-up with a perfectly inconsistent approach; every song brings you a new story and a new sound.

Keyboardist Spencer Krug, has lent his musical genius to several neighboring projects (Frog Eyes, Sunset Rubdown and Swan Lake) and somehow musically separates his identities through each project. “Call it a Ritual”, stands out immediately with Krug’s vocals respectively competing against an off-beat clash of pounding keys and misleading drumming. What makes this song great is they didn’t try to milk this short track for all of it’s worth; a long story is made short despite being delivered with mystery through Krug’s strange narration.

Co- Vocalist and full time guitarist Dan Boeckner stands his ground with the following track, “Language City”. He sings as if every stone will be turned over before the end of the song. With a more “rock” approach, Boeckner understands the mechanics of keeping his songwriting interesting without getting too sketchy.
The two distinctive vocalist sounds as if they wrote the songs they lead separately, whilst enough room for experimenting. The method seems to work out smoothly, keeping the album interesting while avoiding patterns and formulas most bands secretly swear by.

Wolf Parade’s co-vocalist finally mesh for the first time on the album’s closing highlight “Kissing the Beehive” (originally the albums title, later changed to avoid legal troubles). They surprisingly compliment each other well on this manic journey that easily challenges what eleven minutes should feel like. The song almost seems to stray, but instead beautifully evolves into a masterpiece while remaining in the same creative realm. After hearing this song, you may wish the album could grant one last song, to help wean off of the experience.

This album will leave a very good impression on current fans, and may leave new listeners curious of where this story of At Mount Zoomer evolved from. This effort will keep you occupied until next. Wolf Parade may have possibly created an echo with this experiment. Hopefully they will continue to grace listeners with their strange tales in the future.