Wolf Parade – At Mount Zoomer[Sub Pop; 17/06/2008]
Despite the slew of projects Dan Boeckner and Spencer Krug indulge in, people have still suffered from anxiety in the hope that a new Wolf Parade album would surface. So much so, that on the back of their genre defining debut, Apologies to Queen Mary, the band's sophomore effort, At Mount Zoomer is arguably one of the most anticipated releases of the year.
Although it was always going to be one hell of a battle to surpass the sounds of their first at-bat, after the dust settles, many would have thought that Wolf Parade could have done a little better with 'Zoomer.
'Soldier's Grin' picks up from where the band left off, displaying all the strong traits Wolf Parade had initially shown on Apologies'. The one two indie-punch combo of 'California Dreaming' and 'The Grey Estate' also demonstrate Wolf Parade expanding on their sound in catchy fashion, but sadly there's not too much else to elaborate on without wasting column space. The catchy indie pop songs that we fell in love with the first time around seem to be sparse and at a high premium, making this album very patchy and skip prone.
Wolf Parade have presented a different proposition with At Mount Zoomer. Despite the obvious Boeckner fans, who will judge the album with over zealous emotion based on the fact that this is new material - to put it bluntly - their first album was brilliant and this one isn't. There's a middle ground in the world of music and although there's some decent songs here, this time around Wolf Parade haven't found it in terms of producing a decent album. Sadly, there lies the problem.
By Simon K
1 comment:
You're an idiot. It's funny because every negative review of this album is a carbon copy of itself: "it's too hard... it's not as catchy as Apologies... what do you mean I have to listen to it multiple times to appreciate it...". Brilliant album - more complex yes, but that only gives it more staying power.
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