Montreal quartet
Wolf Parade
's full-length debut fully lives up to the potential bred by their early EPs. They use
Apologies to the Queen Mary
producer
Isaac Brock
to their best advantage, acknowledging their debt to
Modest Mouse
but using his ear as a resource to tinge their endearingly brittle indie pop tunes accordingly.
Spencer Krug
and
Dan Boeckner
both sing in that certain kind of wry yelp that seemed so quirkily marketable in the mid-2000s -- see
the Shins
,
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Hot Hot Heat
-- and it doesn't hurt that most of
's songs are distinctive, too. "Shine a Light" and "You Are a Runner and I Am My Father's Son" repeat from the self-titled EP, "Grounds and Divorce" bops along on cheery keyboard effects and an eight-note guitar solo, and
Boeckner
honks roughly over the modified new wave of "It's a Curse."
admit their love and theft of the past 30 years of rock music, from
Bowie
to
Black Francis
. They allow that, then purposely strip the songs of any slickness or accouterments, so the keys and squiggly guitars and terrifically simple drums (
Arlen Thompson
might play just a kick drum and one big snare) teeter and balance together in a hectic and gloriously alive pop state. [
Apologies to the Queen
Mary was released on LP in 2016.] ~ Johnny Loftus