CATEGORY: MP3

Apologies to the Queen Mary was a solid little record. Perhaps not as great as the initial buzz promised but I know the first time I heard ‘You Are a Runner and I am My Father’s Son’ it put a smile on my face. I still listen to the album every once in a while. It’s still solid. I still smile.

I’m not sure about Wolf Parade’s new mp3, however. ‘Call It a Ritual’ isn’t a bad song- it’s actually pretty ’solid’- but it doesn’t make me smile. Nor does it get me too excited for the band’s up coming sophomore album At Mount Zoomer (out June 17th). The track actually reminds me of the first time I heard the Arcade Fire’s ‘Black Mirror’, a few weeks before Neon Bible was released. It was a darker song, undeniably well put together, but despite hitting all the regular marks for the band, I just ‘wasn’t feeling it’. That didn’t stop Neon Bible from being great though so I’m still holding out hope for this record. The Amazon product description calls At Mount Zoomer ‘this generation’s Marquee Moon‘ so at least we know the hype wheels are spinning.

Wolf Parade - Call It a Ritual

Pre-order Wolf Parade’s At Mount Zoomer on Amazon.com

BONUS! UNRELEASED MP3S FROM UP COMING SUB POP ALBUMS:

CSS - Rat is Dead
Appearing on the up-coming Sub Pop album Donkey (release date TBA)

Purchase CSS’s debut album Cansei de Ser Sexy on Amazon.com

Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal
Appearing on the up coming Sub Pop album Fleet Foxes (out June 3rd)

Pre-order Fleet Foxes’ self titled album on Amazon.com

CATEGORY: MP3

Truthfully, the thing I enjoyed most about Wolf Parade’s critically acclaimed Apologies to the Queen Mary was Dan Boeckner and his unique singing voice. Perhaps that is why I consider myself a fan of Boeckner’s other band the Handsome Furs. The voice is there in all its glory, hovering above a desert of drum beats and accoustic guitar (which are provided by Boeckner’s real life spouse Alexei Perry). Unlike some of SubPop’s other recent releases (*cough* Jenifer Gentle *cough*), this is some good old fashioned indie rock I can get behind.

[mp3] The Handsome Furs - What We Had

And just because:

[mp3] Jenifer Gentle - Electric Princes