Album review: Wolf Parade, 'Expo 86'
Rating: 2.5 stars (out of 4)
One might expect a lot of back and forth illustrating contrasting – or even clashing – styles between the two primary Wolf Parade songwriters, Dan Boeckner and Spencer Krug. Besides their work in the Montreal quartet, they’ve each had notable success individually, Krug in art-rockers Sunset Rubdown and Boeckner in Handsome Furs, the electro-punk duo he shares with his wife, Alexei Perry.
But like the New Pornographers – another Canadian indie-rock band with an overload of strong creative personalities – Wolf Parade pulls off the difficult task of actually sounding like a band rather than a showcase for competing songwriters on its third album, “Expo 86” (Sub Pop).
On the two previous Wolf Parade albums, Boeckner spat out the more visceral, straight-ahead songs while Krug played in more abstract, wordier terrain. This time the differences are less obvious, which makes for a more integrated, seamless-sounding album. That isn’t necessarily a more satisfying approach; in some ways “Expo 86” doesn’t contain as many peak moments as its predecessors, “Apologies to the Queen Mary” (2005) and “At Mount Zoomer” (2008).
Instead, it boasts a streamlined consistency, the band’s mix of jabbing keyboards and spiky guitars rushing at the listener without any sonic detours or sudden bursts of unhinged emotion (Boeckner’s specialty). The melodies are sprinkled with wordless vocal hooks in perfectly agreeable attempts at creating the indie-rock equivalent of arena anthems (“Cloud Shadow on the Mountain,” “Palm Road,” “Little Golden Age”). But only the closing “Cave-O-Sapien” delivers a manic pop thrill on par with the quartet’s best work.
It’s no surprise that “Expo 86” came together the quickest of all the Wolf Parade albums, recorded in Montreal with Howard Bilerman; it has the feel of something assembled at a factory with “Wolf Parade” parts left over from previous albums. It consolidates strengths rather than taking any bold steps forward.
greg@gregkot.com