Wolf Parade - Oh You, Old Thing
Wolf Parade has remained one of my favourite bands ever since I had the pleasure of hearing it live in August 2008. It truly embodies the Montreal sound, and certainly can be advantageously compared to other world-renowned local acts such as Stars and Arcade Fire. To say that I was looking forward to hearing Wolf Parade’s third album, nostalgically titled Expo 86, would be a euphemism. Fortunately, this record is an absolute success at all levels. The sound is definitely less pop than what the band had previously presented on Apologies to Queen Mary, but what Wolf Parade loses in effervescence, it gains in consistency and cohesiveness. As a matter of fact, although I adore this band’s second album, At Mount Zommer, I’ve always thought that it lost some of its impact by trying to follow too many different paths all at once. On the contrary, Expo 86 feels like a band’s work and remains logic from A to Z. Once again, Wolf Parade excels in writing songs with complex, multi-level structures. Heart-breaking, yet heart-warming, Expo 86 is pure genius.
