'08's Music to Love More Than Music: Someone To Love More Than Music

Album of the Year (sm12<3>μsic):

Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer

Wolf. Parade. We all stand in your shadow, in my opinion. Like last year, I have a feeling I'm going to get a lot of shit for claiming this as my favorite album of the year. Last year's pick was Neon Bible, by the Arcade Fire, a choice I still stand by. The album was darker, and there was a higher production rate on every aspect of it. It was darker and deeper than most people were willing to go, I think, so everyone said that their first one was better.

A lot of people are saying this album is not as good as Wolf Parade's first album too. This confuses the hell out of me. Each instrument is infinitely more interesting than on the first one, the song writing has taken a more epic turn with strange song set-ups (I mean, most the songs have full on movements), and the lyrics are far more interesting than anything that was heard on the first one. I think that people like first albums more because the artist only digs as deep as the general person is willing to dig within themselves, and frequently the artists dig deeper on the second one, accessing the darker, scarier, more personal side of the human race, and most people don't want to go that deep, and go back to the first album that was more innocent and playful. We don't like to have our fears projected at us in full dolby 5.1 or whatever, so we go back to the album that was recorded in some dudes basement, with the static to protect us from our own emotions being summoned from us by our speakers. Wolf Parade, it seems, has taken that risk, pumped up the production quality, and is making the leap into the black ocean that is making a statement that people don't want to hear. Kissing the Beehive is a terrifying song, so I understand where people come from when they say they didn't like it. I think it's more a physical and mental reaction than a judgement of quality.

But then again this is just what I see and hear. I could be completely crazy. As always, you make the call:
Wolf Parade - California Dreamer
Wolf Parade - Language City
Wolf Parade - Kissing The Beehive