Cool Hunting

Wolf Parade is the latest Montreal export worth more than a listen. Their first full-length album, Apologies to the Queen Mary, is a driving mix of indie backbeats with psychedelic, artsy, and electronic influences. Like the oft-compared Arcade Fire, the upshot is an eclectic yet tightly produced answer to all the retro rock of late and the vocals share more than a little bit with the pathos of fellow Canadians Death From Above 1979. An apt description of the balanced music comes from their own lyrics opening the track "This Heart's on Fire": Sometimes we rock and roll/Sometimes we stay at home/And it's just fine."

Pick up their album and merch from Sub Pop.