Review: The Boy Least Likely to; Wolf Parade

Thu Sep 22, 01:40 AM by

The Boy Least Likely To – Best Party Ever
Too Young To Die; 2005

Hailing from the the countryside just north of London, this British duo is already creating quite a stir stateside. Having recently released their debut, Best Party Ever, The Boy Least Likely To is garnering rave reviews from the likes of Pitchfork Media and NME. So I dove in to see what all the fuss is about.

TBLLT is what Elliott Smith would sound like if he’d ever gotten extremely hopped up on antidepressants and decided to go on tour with Sesame Street Live. From the opening track’s use of xylophone and falsetto-harmonized chorus, to the hand-claps and banjo of “Monsters,” Best Party Ever doesn’t want to be taken too seriously. In fact, it urges you to go and have just that—the best party, ever. And don’t worry, they don’t waste much time until they break out the moog. Readily apparent early on from the musical circus act and lyrical youthfulness, this album deals almost exclusively with the trials of growing up and adjusting to the world.

Detouring sharply from the antics of, say, Andrew W. K.’s party anthems, TBLLT creates a record with a familiar, jovial sound. However, the record abruptly shifts midway through from disco-soul extravaganza to understated depress-a-thon. When the band gracefully presents “The Battle of the Boy Least Likely To,” it almost seems like too-little-too-late. The jump from overwhelming clusterfuck to acoustic folksongs halfway through the record comes off as contrived, and confusing. The band fails to establish a thematic balance on the record, leaving the listener searching for meaning, and wondering to whom he needs to complain to get the last 45 minutes of his life back. Somewhat disappointingly, Best Party Ever fails to live up to its name—perhaps they should’ve gone with something more along the lines of Bring Your Own Aural Entertainment.

Wolf Parade – Apologies to the Queen Mary
Sub Pop; 2005

O Canada, you’ve gone and done it again. You were always there for us when we needed the butt for our faltering joke. You were there when we needed to cross the border after they threatened to draft us and send us to war. And now, here you are providing for us once again, as you bear one of this year’s most impressive indie pop acts—Wolf Parade.

Drawing early comparisons to the likes of Modest Mouse and The Arcade Fire, there were high expectations on the table for 2005’s Apologies to the Queen Mary. In fact, Isaac Brock landed Wolf Parade over at Sub Pop, and helped record their debut LP. Verily, they lived up to the hype.

Dan Boeckner‘s disjointed vocals have a pleading truthfulness to them. The rhythm section chugs along at a reserved pace, not overpowering, but accessible. Synths and piano arch to and fro throughout. The guitar work on the record, while not especially challenging, is interesting enough to keep the listener’s attention. But where the music really shines is in its lyrical accomplishment.

Thematically, Apologies tackles a range of subjects from a depressive’s search for meaning on “I’ll Believe In Anything,” to the fear and ultimate resentment of growing up like—gasp—one’s parents on “You Are A Runner And I Am My Father’s Son” (my favorite track so far.) Boeckner’s strained yelps as he “look[s] at the lovers/and the way they move/and they way the hold their hands” while “Look[ing] at the babies/And the way they’re hugged/And the way they’re loved” on “Grounds For Divorce” evokes the powerful struggle of a child’s inability to cope with and understand the separation of his parents, while at the same time playing on the surface meaning of a simple breakup.

While it may not be The Lonesome Crowded West, Wolf Parade’s Apologies to the Queen Mary stands a good chance of breaking into my top 20 of 2005. It’s subtle, yet effective. Wolf Parade, we stand on guard for thee.

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