Wolf Parade

"Call It A Ritual"

BY Cam LindsayPublished May 9, 2008

As the non-illegal-downloading world waits (im)patiently for the second Wolf Parade album to arrive on June 17, curious fans can spend their days worrying about the two words co-vocalist/guitarist Dan Boeckner used to describe At Mount Zoomer: No singles. Or maybe those are words of encouragement. Depends on which side of the creative fence you sit.

I can just see fans who pumped their fists and frolicked in clubs to a modern day anthem like "Shine A Light" cowering in their Nike SBs about where Wolf Parade have headed. But the Montrealers haven't abandoned their collective sense of pushing songs to their limits, fucking with tonalities, progressions and running times, while accidentally or perhaps purposely conceiving flashes of undeniable pop euphoria.

Early on they found an inimitable sound, and while it's not as immediate, At Mount Zoomer carries that sound forward. Served up by Sub Pop as a nice hors d'œuvre, "Call It A Ritual" is a snapshot of this momentum: Spencer Krug bounces his piano like a super ball, muttering in his anomalous cackle beside Hadji Bakara's tonal meddlings and Boeckner's reverberating guitar, which sits in the background to add only some decorative flourishes.

Just wait till you hear "Kissing the Beehive" though...

Wolf Parade "Call It A Ritual"

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