Wolf Parade’s third full-length, Expo 86, is an all-out indie rock release, danceable but dark. Just like Wolf Parade’s output of albums, it doesn’t seem to ever slow down. 
From the opening notes to the final chords, Expo 86 is a driving force, with energy that never wanes and an enjoyable, catchy consistency. The sound is true to the Wolf Parade of the past, by which I mean it manages to be both accessible but weird, thanks to the combined forces of Dan Boeckner and Spencer Krug, the co-commanders of the Canadian outfit. And even though the album is always building, it never seems like a strenuous uphill climb; Wolf Parade deliver tension and energy smoothly and easily.
Expo 86 begins with “Cloud Shadow On the Mountain,” which immediately pulls listeners into a fast-paced frenzy that continues for much of the album. Wolf Parade deliver a uniform feel from song to song, allowing for plenty of reveberating synths to showcase their interesting lyrics and echoey vocals. “Ghost Pressure” arrives in the middle of the album to offer a bit of variation, coupling repetitive synths with a steady, spirited beat, and “Yulia,” an intense, focused track toward the end, seems like a surprisingly poignant tune. The album closes with the strangely-named “Cave-O-Sapien,” a song that is just as excitingly energetic as the rest of the lively tracks. As with most of the album, moments of wackiness play into the song, with lyrics about a vision of a killer gorilla. But it’s moments like those that show that what Wolf Parade’s latest release lacks in diversity it makes up for in an idiosyncratic sort of ingenuity.
Track Listing:
01. Cloud Shadow on the Mountain
02. Palm Road
03. What Did My Lover Say? (It Always Had to Go This Way)
04. Little Golden Age
05. In the Direction of the Moon
06. Ghost Pressure
07. Pobody’s Nerfect
08. Two Men in New Tuxedos
09. Oh You, Old Thing
10. Yulia
11. Cave-O-Sapien
