Wolf Parade

This Canadian group's debut calls to mind two of the bands that helped them get their feet off of the ground: the Arcade Fire and Modest Mouse. Taking the former's lush unpredictability and marrying it with the latter's spastic pop sense results in an indie rock Frankenstein's monster. Songs good. Fire bad.

"I'll Believe in Anything," the best cut on Wolf Parade's excellently shambling debut, may be
the indie-rock song of the year. Overflowing with desperate, Brit-inflected yelping, a
heartstring-tugging chorus and a clamorous racket that could have come from a drunken
bagpipe troupe, "Anything" shows off Wolf Parade's twin strengths: the mock-orchestral
grandeur of their Montreal buddies the Arcade Fire and the weirdo pop sensibili... More >