An Animal in Your Care - Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer - 2008

Well, I was hoping to make it to the "Anne's" today, since it is my six month anniversary with my lady friend...but I suppose this will do as a tribute.

Actually, it probably won't as we disagree on this song...oh, and also it seems to compare a dating relationship to owning a pet....but whatever.

But as with any of Spencer Krugs songs on the second WP album, the question is...does the song's strengths get drowned out in Krugs' idiosyncrasies. With this one in particular his vocal yelp is dialed down to a fairly manageable level, and as I said the lyrics, with it's comparison to the family dog as lover, are kinda fascinating. But most of all, it is the contrapuntal stomp that begins at 2:06 (nearly the exact midpoint of the song) that really brings the song home. It begins with a simple, almost Bach-ish piano line and slowly ads instruments to the rhythm until the band as a whole seems to be marching in step. Seeing it live certainly ads to the enjoyment of the song, as this outro section seems to boil over with tightly wound suspense.

Not my favorite song on Mt. Zoomer, but certainly one of the best.

All Fires - Swan Lake - Beast Moans - 2006

While Frog Eyes has always been a little too "Quirky" for my tastes, I am a pretty big fan of both Destroyer and Wolf Parade...so I was intrigued to hear how the combined talents of the three most idiosyncratic voices in Canadian Indie Rock would pan out. The result...mostly "meh". It's not bad...just a little dull.