Wolf Parade :: Wessex Scene Online

Wolf Parade

9th November 2005
JS

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Dec 05 - Top 100 Albums of 2005 (100 to 1)
Mar 07 - Album Review: The Noisettes
Mar 07 - Album Review: Arcade Fire
Oct 05 - Laura Veirs
Nov 05 - The Honeymoon Machine

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Apologies To The Queen Mary
(Sub Pop) Canadian music seems to be going through something of a renaissance at the moment. In the last few years it has not only produced the amazing Broken Social Scene, but also given birth to The Arcade Fire, Death From Above 1979, Stars and The New Pornographers. Wolf Parade come from Montreal, and this is their incredible debut album.

‘Apologies...’ is simply stunning, taking the best of modern indie rock and post-rock. Like The Arcade Fire, they create a sound that’s unique and also incredibly easy to listen to. Each play reveals as yet undiscovered levels of invention that make ‘Apologies…’ one of those records that stays with you for a long time.

Wolf Parade come on like Les Savy Fav and Pavement having a fight with David Bowie in a sweetshop. But much, much better.

To me, this album sums up what I would like to call anti-Emo. Wolf Parade don’t give us songs of musical cliché or obvious affective lyricism. Instead their lyrics are often tinged with psychedelia or abstraction. They present us with composition and performance so visceral and intense that we know that it’s for real; we’re affected by it without having to put up with sixth form poetry and endless whining. There’s something direct about the way that songs like ‘Fancy Claps’, ‘Shine A Light’ and the album closer ‘This Heart’s On Fire’ are played that just can’t be denied. This is an easy contender for album of the year.

9/10