Wolf Parade

Wolf Parade is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 2003 in Montreal. The band released three full-length albums before taking a five-year hiatus in 2011. They announced their return in 2016, releasing a self-titled EP in May of that year, and a fourth studio album, Cry Cry Cry, in October 2017. Their fifth studio album, Thin Mind, was released on January 24, 2020.

For other uses, see Wolf Parade (disambiguation).
Wolf Parade
Wolf Parade at the Theater of the Living Arts in Philadelphia on August 20, 2007
Wolf Parade at the Theater of the Living Arts in Philadelphia on August 20, 2007
Background information
OriginMontreal, Quebec, Canada
GenresIndie rock, post-punk revival
Years active2003 (2003)–2011, 2016–present
LabelsSub Pop
MembersSpencer Krug
Dan Boeckner
Arlen Thompson
Hadji Bakara
Past membersDante DeCaro

History

Wolf Parade began in April 2003, when former Frog Eyes member Spencer Krug was offered a gig by Grenadine Records' Alex Megelas. With only a three-week deadline to form a band, Krug contacted a fellow Canadian guitarist Dan Boeckner (formerly of British Columbia band Atlas Strategic) and began writing songs in Krug's apartment.[1] Initially using a drum machine for their rhythm section played through computer speakers, Krug later invited Arlen Thompson to the lineup as the drummer;[2] however, the newly formed trio rehearsed as a full band only the day before their first show.[2] During the tour, Wolf Parade recorded and released their self-titled debut EP (also known as their 4 Song EP).

In September 2003,[3] Hadji Bakara joined Wolf Parade, contributing his synthesizer and sound manipulation skills to the lineup.[1] By the summer of 2004 the band released its second independent, self-titled EP, commonly referred to as the 6 Song EP.

In September 2004, the band traveled to Portland, Oregon to record with Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock. Brock had recently signed the band to Sub Pop when he was an A&R man for the label at the time. He had known Dan Boeckner from his days in Atlas Strategic, who had toured with Modest Mouse and were offered a Sub Pop signing just before the band split up. Wolf Parade spent two and a half weeks working 14-hour days in Portland. After some remixing, the band returned to Montreal to finish recording. The album was scheduled for a May release, but then pushed back.[3] On its new record label, the band released its first widely distributed EP, Wolf Parade, in July 2005.

In September 2005, the band's debut album Apologies to the Queen Mary was released on Sub Pop Records to critical acclaim,[4] earning a 2006 Polaris Music Prize nomination.[5][6]

Dante DeCaro (formerly of Hot Hot Heat) joined sometime in 2005 as a second guitarist and percussionist.[1] In 2008, an arrangement by Kenji Fusé of the Wolf Parade song "I'll Believe in Anything" for full symphony orchestra received a reading by the Victoria Symphony.[7]

The band's second album, At Mount Zoomer, followed in June 2008.[8] An on-stage announcement[9] in November 2008 that Dante DeCaro would no longer be playing with the band was later revealed to have been a joke.[10] Hadji Bakara left the band in 2008 to pursue an academic career in literature.[11]

Wolf Parade reconvened in November 2009 to begin work on their third album, Expo 86. In an interview with Exclaim! magazine, Dan Boeckner stated that the album may be released as a double album or as an LP and an EP, given the sheer number of quality songs to come out of the sessions. The five members realized they had all been at Vancouver's World Fair in the same week when they were kids, which is how the album got its name.[12] The album was produced by Howard Bilerman and was released in the United States on June 29, 2010.[13]

In 2010, the song "Shine a Light" from Apologies to the Queen Mary appeared in the "Criminal Minds" episode "The Fight".

Wolf Parade kicked off their 2010 North American tour in Montreal.[14] Following the tour, the band announced it would go on indefinite hiatus after playing a small number of shows in 2011, including the Sasquatch! Music Festival.[15]

On January 14, 2016, Wolf Parade updated their website adding "2016" and launched new Twitter and Instagram pages, indicating the band's return from hiatus.[16] The following day, they announced a series of concert dates for later that year, and that they had been working on new music.[17] On October 6, 2017 the band released their fourth album titled Cry Cry Cry.[18]

On February 4, 2019, Wolf Parade announced that Dante DeCaro had decided to leave the band and that they would carry on touring and composing as a trio.[19]

Wolf Parade released their fifth studio album, Thin Mind, on January 24, 2020.[20]

In April 2022, the band announced a series of shows where they would perform Apologies to the Queen Mary in its entirety. The band also confirmed that Bakara would return for the tour, marking his first shows with Wolf Parade in 14 years.[21]

Members

Current members

  • Spencer Krug – vocals, keyboards, synthesizers (2003–2011, 2016–present)
  • Dan Boeckner – vocals, guitar (2003–2011, 2016–present)
  • Arlen Thompson – drums (2003–2011, 2016–present)
  • Hadji Bakara – synthesizers (2003–2008, 2022–present)

Former members

  • Dante DeCaro - bass, guitar, percussion, keyboards (2005–2011, 2016–2019)

Other work

Wolf Parade has been referred to as a "supergroup in reverse", as the members have achieved success with numerous projects formed after Wolf Parade.[22] Additionally, Dante DeCaro's previous band Hot Hot Heat had received acclaim for their first album, Make Up the Breakdown, prior to his departure. Below is a partial list of the members' other projects:

  • Spencer Krug releases solo music under the name of Moonface and is the lead singer of the recently-reunited rock band Sunset Rubdown.[23] He was previously in Frog Eyes, Fifths of Seven, and Swan Lake. Beginning in 2021, Krug began recording albums under his own name and on his own label Pronounced Kroog. As of June 2022, he has released two albums in this manner: Fading Graffiti[24] and Twenty Twenty Twenty Twenty One.[25]
  • Arlen Thompson played drums on the Arcade Fire song "Wake Up". He also helped produce both Handsome Furs albums at his Mount Zoomer recording studio in Montreal. He is a member of the side project formerly known as Treasure Hunt,[26] whose name was changed to avoid confusion with the moniker of experimental musician, Myles Byrne-Dunhill.[27]
  • Dan Boeckner was formerly a member of the indie rock duo Handsome Furs which he formed with his now ex-wife, Alexei Perry. Before joining Wolf Parade, Boeckner played in Atlas Strategic. He would go on to play in the bands Divine Fits and Operators.[28] In 2022, Boeckner joined Arcade Fire in a session capacity, touring with the band in support of the band's sixth studio album, WE.
  • Dante DeCaro fronts a project called Johnny and the Moon. Prior to Wolf Parade, DeCaro played in Hot Hot Heat.
  • Hadji Bakara is a member of the synth-bass-dance-rap production team Megasoid, along with Speakerbruiser Rob, formerly Sixtoo. He also helped with treatments on "Black Mirror", "Neon Bible" and "My Body Is a Cage" off Arcade Fire's album Neon Bible.

Discography

Studio albums
List of studio albums, with selected chart positions
Title Details Peak chart positions
CAN
[29]		 US
[30]		 US
Indie
[31]
Apologies to the Queen Mary
  • Released: September 27, 2005
  • Label: Sub Pop
 —15812
At Mount Zoomer
  • Released: June 17, 2008
  • Label: Sub Pop
 16454
Expo 86
  • Released: June 29, 2010
  • Label: Sub Pop
 24486
Cry Cry Cry
  • Released: October 6, 2017
  • Label: Sub Pop
 82—[upper-alpha 1]12
Thin Mind
  • Released: January 24, 2020
  • Label: Sub Pop
 ——[upper-alpha 2]—

EPs

Singles
  • "Modern World" (2006, Sub Pop)
  • "Shine a Light" (2006, Sub Pop)
  • "I'll Believe in Anything" (2006, Sub Pop)
  • "Call it a Ritual" (2008, Sub Pop)
  • "Language City" (2008, Sub Pop)
  • "Semi-Precious Stone" / "Agents of Love" (2010, Sub Pop)
  • "Valley Boy" (2017, Sub Pop)
  • "You're Dreaming" (2017, Sub Pop)
  • "King of Piss and Paper" (2017, Sub Pop)
  • "Against the Day" (2019, Sub Pop)
  • "Forest Green" (2019, Sub Pop)
  • "Julia Take Your Man Home" (2020, Sub Pop)

Music videos
  • "Julia Take Your Man Home" (2020)
  • "Against the Day" (2019)
  • "King of Piss and Paper/Artificial Life" (2017)
  • "You're Dreaming" (2017)
  • "Valley Boy" (2017)
  • "Yulia" (2010)
  • "Modern World" (2006)
  • "I'll Believe in Anything" (2005)
  • "Shine a Light" (2005)

Compilation appearances
  • "Claxxon's Lament" on The Believer 2005 Music Issue CD

Notes
  1. "Cry Cry Cry" did not enter the Billboard 200 chart, but peaked at number 54 on the Album Sales chart.[32]
  2. "Thin Mind" did not enter the Billboard 200 chart, but peaked at number 31 on the Album Sales chart.[32]

References
  1. "Wolf Parade Bio". SubPop.com. Retrieved August 13, 2007.
  2. Thompson, Arlen. "Wolf Parade at Iceland Airwaves". icelandairwaves.com. Archived from the original on April 27, 2007. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  3. Barclay, Michael. "Hungry Like the Wolf Parade". Exclaim.ca. Retrieved 2011-03-09.
  4. "25 best Canadian debut albums ever". CBC Music, June 16, 2017.
  5. "Wolf Parade Nominated For Polaris", CMJ News Story, July 7, 2006.
  6. Lindsay, Cam (April 10, 2017). "A Completely Biased Ranking of the 60 Best Canadian Indie Rock Songs of the 00s Part II". Vice.com. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  7. Fuse, Kenji. "Biography". kenjiviola.weebly.com. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  8. Carpenter, Lorraine (July 2008). "Wolf Parade's Concrete Jungle". Exclaim! – via exclaim.ca.
  9. "Review + Setlist + Photos: Wolf Parade and Listening Party at the Gargoyle". Riverfront Times. November 8, 2008. Retrieved November 9, 2008.
  10. Thompson, Paul; Phillips, Amy (November 10, 2008). "Dante DeCaro Not Leaving Wolf Parade". Pitchfork.com. Pitchfork Media.
  11. "Hadji Bakara". umich.edu. University of Michigan. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  12. Carlick, Stephen. "Wolf Parade The Pack Reunited". Exclaim.ca. Retrieved 2011-03-09.
  13. "Exclusive: Wolf Parade Talk New LP - "This Is Not a Fussed-Over Computer Record"". Exclaim.ca. 2010-03-19. Retrieved 2011-03-09.
  14. "Wolf Parade Kick Off Tour in Montreal | Wolf Parade Open at Le National". SPIN.com. Retrieved 2011-03-09.
  15. Fetherston, Eamonn (May 29, 2011). "Sasquatch 2011: Wolf Parade, Live in Concert". NPR.org. Retrieved May 30, 2014.
  16. Monroe, Jazz (January 14, 2016). "Wolf Parade are back". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  17. Monroe, Jazz (January 15, 2016). "Wolf Parade Announce First Shows in Five Years, Working on New Music". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  18. "First Listen: Wolf Parade, 'Cry Cry Cry'". NPR.org. Retrieved 2018-01-16.
  19. Parade, Wolf (2019-02-04). "So, Dante is no longer part of Wolf Parade. After years of tour he's decided to try a new way of living, offstage. We'll miss him & wish him the best. And he's irreplaceable, so we're carrying on as the original 3-piece WP. It's sounding good and we're excited to share new tunes!". @WolfParade. Retrieved 2019-02-04.
  20. "Thin Mind". Sub Pop Records. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
  21. Minsker, Evan (27 April 2022). "Wolf Parade Announce Apologies to the Queen Mary Shows With Original Lineup". Pitchfork. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  22. "Wolf Parade: EP 4 Review". Pitchfork. May 26, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  23. "Sunset Rubdown to Reunite After 13 Years". Pitchfork. 2022-12-06. Retrieved 2023-04-06.
  24. "Spencer Krug - Fading Graffiti". pronouncedkroog.com. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
  25. "Spencer Krug - Twenty Twenty Twenty Twenty One". pronouncedkroog.com. Retrieved September 26, 2022.
  26. PaulHus, Mark (June 2, 2010). "Wolf Parade: Expo 86 (Sub Pop)". Discorder Magazine. Retrieved October 23, 2017 – via CiTR.ca.
  27. "Treasure Hunt". discogs.com. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  28. Beauchemin, Molly (August 1, 2014). "Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade, Handsome Furs) Announces EP With New Band Operators, Shares 'True'". pitchfork.com. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  29. "Wolf Parade - Billboard Canadian Albums". Billboard. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  30. "Wolf Parade - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  31. "Wolf Parade - Independent Albums". Billboard. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  32. "Wolf Parade – Chart History: Album Sales". Billboard. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
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