Apologies to the Queen Mary was one of my top 10 albums of the 00's, and Expo '86 is an underappreciated masterpiece. So don't take it too backhanded when I say this is the 3rd best album Wolf Parade's made; it's one of the best indie rock albums in years, whatever's that's worth, a reminder that heartfelt, yelping, borderline-dancable rock still has a pulse.
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When Lazarus Online lays out its staggeringly straightforward tale of withering hope, you brace yourself for some old testament Modest Mousery. And there's flashes of desperation, bouyed by ragged horn flashes - but for the most part the middle section is a little bloodless, reading from the book of indie stompalong repetition, Wolf Parade gone Spoon. The best thing about Apologies was the way it felt like the wheels could come off at any moment, Spencer Krug hammering down the patches on a ship going down and racing at the jetty at a hundred knots. I miss those stakes, this feels polished for a vigorous festival heeltapping.
But by the 3rd act album highlight Who Are Ya comes along, and its all stuttering delivery and everything coming apart and start stops and you screaming in your head at the rain on a desolate night, and you get that flash of hope.
Not to obsess, but one of the best things about Apologies was its pacing. I challenge you to name a set of 3 second-side songs as good as tracks tracks 7-9 on that album. Nobody saves that kind of fire for their second salvo. Which is to say: After Who Are Ya, the last two tracks make a play for that kind of backloading boldness, as Wolf Parade lean on buzzy synths to raise the stakes and bring frission.
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It's not fair to expect the kind of life-or-death desperation from a band this deep into its career. That this is the least bit interesting is more than most bands can expect 12 years on. And this has real spark.
It all feels a bit planned, a bit written, a bit knowing about what people will groove to at shows between Apologies' underground hits, but man, 4 honest to god good songs, plus totally servicable stompalongs in between? I'll take it in 2017 4/5
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