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Oct 05, 2017 Web Exclusive By Jim Scott

It doesn’t usually go like this. After a five-year absence from the live stage, and seven since their last record, 2010’s Expo 86, Wolf Parade got back together to promote a re-issue of their debut album, Apologies to the Queen Mary. Then last year they dropped an EP, and now, their fourth full-length, Cry Cry Cry.

Typically, when bands reform after successful solo or side gigs (in this case the notables being Spencer Krug’s Moonface, Dan Boeckner’s Divine Fits and Handsome Furs, and Dante DeCaro’s work with Frog Eyes) the result upon their reformation is a taking of turns, where each member basically contributes a song that sounds very much like their other band. Sometimes this evens out over time, sometimes it doesn’t, but the point here is Cry Cry Cry is fully and completely a Wolf Parade record. The band not only sounds like itself, it sounds as good as ever.

The standout is the rollicking “Valley Boy,” which sounds like a Bowie song about the death of Leonard Cohen (see the heartrending couplet, “The land wants the tongue and the air wants the spirit/But it’s all inside the heart and Marianne won’t let them near it”). Cry Cry Cry is deep, though, and, as with all great records, the next best song varies day by day. This is partially driven by the variety. Through the various side projects, Wolf Parade has only gained versatility, from the somber sing-along opener “Lazarus Online,” to the power pop of the post-election burner “You’re Dreaming,” to the hazy prog of the epic “Weaponized.”

The greatest and most wonderful surprise is that Cry Cry Cry burns with the passion of a debut. Whatever electricity had maybe seeped out of the band prior to their hiatus has crackled back to life and then some. Cry Cry Cry captures the sound of a group thrilled by playing music together again. (www.wolfparade.com)

Author rating: 8.5/10