Paul's Choice:
Wolf Parade - Expo 86
So Wolf Parade’s latest album comes out tomorrow, but we at HaF like to keep you ahead of the game so you can go brag to your friends about how indie/hipster you are and despite the relatively positive reviews of Wolf Parade’s latest album by a blog so obscure you’ve never even heard of it, you still think they will never again match the artistic ventures of Apologies. And yeah, you can’t say the full title, just Apologies, ‘cuz if they don’t know what you’re talking about then they’re not your friends. Anyways, on to the review.
Wolf Parade’s been one of my favorite bands ever since I first heard Apologies. That album is one I listen to regularly and in my opinion, is one of the best albums ever recorded. Unfortunately, due to the greatness of their debut album, I have not listened to their sophomore release At Mount Zoomer as much as I should. I’ve only listened to it two or three times, but as far as I can remember, it was pretty good. For the first fifteen minutes of Expo 86, I was thinking to myself, “Wow, they’ve actually done it. This is as good or better than Apologies.” The open track, “Could Shadow on the Mountain” is a very gorgeous track, featuring absolutely amazing drumming by Arlen Thompson and awesome vocals as always. However, past the first half of the album, it begins to feel very long. Wolf Parade loses its primary pop sound that is heard in Apologies and takes on more of an indie-rock feel to the album. It’s not such a bad feel, but I really do miss the poppy sound of Wolf Parade’s past synth lines and the screeching vocals from Apologies. But it’s not a bad album by any means, and I highly encourage all to give it a listen, especially if you have any interest in Wolf Parade.
Wolf Parade’s been one of my favorite bands ever since I first heard Apologies. That album is one I listen to regularly and in my opinion, is one of the best albums ever recorded. Unfortunately, due to the greatness of their debut album, I have not listened to their sophomore release At Mount Zoomer as much as I should. I’ve only listened to it two or three times, but as far as I can remember, it was pretty good. For the first fifteen minutes of Expo 86, I was thinking to myself, “Wow, they’ve actually done it. This is as good or better than Apologies.” The open track, “Could Shadow on the Mountain” is a very gorgeous track, featuring absolutely amazing drumming by Arlen Thompson and awesome vocals as always. However, past the first half of the album, it begins to feel very long. Wolf Parade loses its primary pop sound that is heard in Apologies and takes on more of an indie-rock feel to the album. It’s not such a bad feel, but I really do miss the poppy sound of Wolf Parade’s past synth lines and the screeching vocals from Apologies. But it’s not a bad album by any means, and I highly encourage all to give it a listen, especially if you have any interest in Wolf Parade.
Friend Rating:
7.6
Hipster Review:
Wolf Parade's last album At Mount Zoomer was something of a mixed bag for me; while it had plenty of the band's signature zany songwriting style, some of the songs showed the band's descent into more proggy waters that really bogged down the album's momentum and kept the songs from reaching their fullest potential. Which is unfortunate, because a band as manically creative as Wolf Parade was more than capable of keeping their ideas in check. But although the album had it's missteps, it wasn't anything damning; it was still a decent album, it just didn't display the band at their best.
Which is why I breathe a sigh of relief writing this review for their latest effort, Expo 86. While it's not in the realms of their near-perfect debut Apologies To The Queen Mary, Expo shows the band neatly balancing the line between their wild pop craft and their proggier tendencies. It's the band at their most relaxed and alternately insistent. They've gone back to the more straightforward song structure of Apologies, yet they also still give the songs plenty of breathing room to move around and expand, oftentimes to go into extended jams. Which brings up an albeit minor but still present complaint: many of the songs on here are a little too long. The 5-minute mark works for a couple of tracks, but sometimes a song will drag on a bit without much point but to simply be crazy. But thankfully this is a minor complaint, and the record comes together quite nicely. Like I said, it's not their debut, but it's also a lot better than I expected it to be. It's the work of a great band making music that only they can and doing it in the most fun way possible.
Which is why I breathe a sigh of relief writing this review for their latest effort, Expo 86. While it's not in the realms of their near-perfect debut Apologies To The Queen Mary, Expo shows the band neatly balancing the line between their wild pop craft and their proggier tendencies. It's the band at their most relaxed and alternately insistent. They've gone back to the more straightforward song structure of Apologies, yet they also still give the songs plenty of breathing room to move around and expand, oftentimes to go into extended jams. Which brings up an albeit minor but still present complaint: many of the songs on here are a little too long. The 5-minute mark works for a couple of tracks, but sometimes a song will drag on a bit without much point but to simply be crazy. But thankfully this is a minor complaint, and the record comes together quite nicely. Like I said, it's not their debut, but it's also a lot better than I expected it to be. It's the work of a great band making music that only they can and doing it in the most fun way possible.
Hipster Rating:
8.5
Coming up next, How I Got Over by The Roots!
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment