Wolf Parade — At Mount Zoomer

Let me preface this by saying if there's one record you should own this year, it's At Mount Zoomer. Usually you close a review with a line like that, but I think it's the most important detail about Wolf Parade's second full-length, so why not start there? For a band whose focus is split in so many directions (Sunset Rubdown, Handsome Furs, Swan Lake, Megasoid), it's incredible that Dan Boeckner and Spencer Krug still had enough left over for such a phenomenal collection of songs. Both always seem a little tentative in their respective side projects, but they hold nothing back on an album that can only be described as a triumph for songwriting. I almost feel like it's a disservice to single out individual tracks. I can't imagine starting anywhere but the opening synth line of "Soldier's Grin" and ending before the crashing cymbals of "Kissing The Beehive," but "Language City" and "An Animal In Your Care" are two for the ages. The highest compliment I can pay is that At Mount Zoomer reminds you just how good rock can be.

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