Wolf Parade’s Spencer Krug has proven his versatility as a songwriter, not only in his full-time gig, but also as Sunset Rubdown and in Swan Lake, not to mention his keyboard work in Frog Eyes. Yet with Handsome Furs, his partner-in-crime Dan Boeckner steps into the spotlight with a new project, a collaboration with fiancee Alexei Perry. Building epic, Springsteen-like ballads out of screechy guitars and clanging drum machines, Handsome Furs’ Plague Park is the sound of post-modern Americana. The arrangements may be chaotic and robotic, but beneath their high tech, high anxiety exterior, there’s a soulful heart to these songs. Leadoff track “What We Had” is a powerful anthem with a catchy guitar hook, while “Snakes on the Ladder” has a sad and beautiful melody, as strong and as memorable as any of Wolf Parade’s finest. Though listeners can expect more out of Wolf Parade later in the year, we should consider ourselves lucky if Boeckner treats us to more of this stunning balladry.
--Jeff Terich
Dan Boeckner, one of the voices of Canadian darlings Wolf Parade, has felt it necessary to team up with his girlfriend and deliver a ramshackled and adolescent interpretation of Beck’s early career. Gruff lyrics, off-beat electronica, and power-pop/Pavement-era guitar jangle infuse Plague Park, Handsome Furs’ half-hearted debut. It seems to be vogue for the Canadians to constantly have two or three side projects, a sort of indie-rock osmosis with mixed results. BSS has about four or five off-shoots and The New Pornographers even have three solo careers among its ranks. Perhaps Boeckner feels just a little bit overshadowed by his very busy and talented partner, Spencer Krug, who splits his time between Wolf Parade, Swan Lake, and Sunset Rubdown, and feels he too can juggle time between his own side project and the weight of the increasingly popular Montreal quartet. There are many musicians who must have several projects at a time to focus their endless stream of creative intelligence and ideas, but it is seldom that all results are good. Plague Park is a decent try for Boeckner; he too can spread his wings and try something new, but, unlike his compatriot, the results are far less original and engrossing. It’s not just that Boeckner retreads already exhausted sonic territory (even Beck gave it up), but that Plague Park seems to constantly reinvent the same song nine times over the course of the album. Indeed, it is nine times that same song for the newest Montreal group to grace our ears.
--Wes Barker
