Wolf Parade’s frenetically charged Expo 86 careens from song to song like a runaway mine car, propelled by a soundtrack that combines the giddy intelligence of Talking Heads and Devo and the raw Indie Rock verve of Trip Shakespeare and Modest Mouse. The band’s third album wasn’t shaped by extreme personal drama, but it was definitely steered by internal changes after 2008’s At Mount Zoomer. Certainly a significant shift was downsizing to a quartet after synthesist/sound manipulator Hadji Bakara entered the University of Chicago’s English lit doctorate program.
Expo 86’s other distinguishing aspect is the speed with which the band worked. After Zoomer’s lengthy process, the band’s mindset from the beginning was to work more quickly this time. The band was eager to record together after nearly a year off following Zoomer’s final tour.
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