Wolf Parade Expo 86 (Sub Pop)
In these days of digital production and online releases you aren't really a 'musician' unless you have at least two projects going on. For much of the past decade, it was hard to say whether Wolf Parade was a side project or a full-on focus for Dan Boeckner and Spencer Krug. Formed years before their other endeavours (Handsome Furs and Sunset Rubdown, respectively), the band never really found their footing, with much of their music criticised for being a mishmash of conflicting sounds.
But recorded live on tape with no overdubs, Expo is an urgent collection of upbeat danceable tunes that sounds like two creative minds working in perfect unison.
Opener Cloud Shadow on the Mountain sets the tone with driving drums and burning basslines. It's followed by a series of careening, jittery tracks: from the raw, swaggering riffs of What Did My Love Say? to the synth-guitar hybrid of Oh You, Old Thing.
Reining in personalities is never easy, and producer Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse fame surely had a hand in the new pared-down sound. But the real credit should go to the songwriting duo, whose contrasting styles have blended almost flawlessly into a succinct record worthy of their supergroup label.