Band of the Week: Wolf Parade

[September 1 - 7]
Wolf Parade
Sounds Like: Experimental
Drinking Buddies: Modest Mouse, Islands, Franz Ferdinand
Synopsis: Torqued Canadian rock with a quirky sound.
Makes You Want To...: Clap your hands; Dance; Sing.
[Myspace]




One week, one band. You know the drill.
This week, the featured artist is Wolf Parade.



I love the beginning of the month. A fresh start - new things to look forward to - a change of pace, even if that means just changing the page of the calendar. It's refreshing to me, in an odd way. When I think about September, I think of Summer finally stepping off its pedestal of abusive UV rays, as Autumn quickly takes the lead... er... well, slowly down here in Texas. But I digress, with September comes many new prospects. School starts... not so good. But Halloween, followed by Thanksigiving, followed by Christmas! That's something to look forward to, right?

Yesterday may have been Labour Day, but Voilà! can take no breaks. Let's turn the focus to the opposite side of the North American continent, over toward the humble Canadian town in Québec. Between the St. Lawrence River and Rivière des Prairies lies the city of Montréal, already a notorious hang out for some of the greatest modern music, already home to Godspeed You! Black Emperor (not to mention the infamous Hotel 2 Tango), Stars, Islands, The Unicorns, Bell Orchestre, and The Arcade Fire.

There is one other band, originally from British Columbia, also haunts this fabled city remarked far and wide for is blend of French and Canadian culture. They are Wolf Parade, a quirky quartet have met huge acclaim across the blogosphere and major journalistic publications the world round. They are certainly not new to many these days. And it's not as if they didn't earn their cerdibility beforehand, coming from bands including Sunset Rubdown, Hot Hot Heat, Swan Lake, and Atlas Strategic.

The boys played their first performance opening for The Arcade Fire, and the rest was - as they say - history. On the tour that followed, they wrote their first EP, quickly followed by a second, which previewed the sound heard on their debut LP, Apologies to the Queen Mary, rumoured to be titled after some antics of trashing the Queen Mary Hotel in the name of rockers everywhere. Since then, Wolf Parade has garnered an intense amount of attention everywhere from Pitchfork to Nylon Magazine. They were lined up amongst the ranks of Sub Pop Records by Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse. Playing an odd, eclectic blend of electric and electro almost-but-still-not pop music, Wolf Parade have earned themselves a hefty following on an international scale.

Wolf Parade are giving themselves a break after a crazy tour of the North American continent through July and into the begininng of August. Now that their parade through the States and Canada is complete, they are setting their sights on a romp through Europe. All, of course, is following the release of their second LP, At Mount Zoomer, released in July, which has since received critical acclaim. Of course they have a Myspace. But they also have a cool fansite which can keep you well informed on their movements to and fro.


Welcome September! Have a nice first week of the month; come back Friday for this week's [Ex]Band of the Week.