At Mount Zoomer
| At Mount Zoomer | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 17, 2008 | |||
| Recorded | Petite Église: Farnham MIXart Studios: Montreal Mount Zoomer: Montreal | |||
| Genre | Indie rock | |||
| Length | 46:42 | |||
| Label | Sub Pop | |||
| Producer | Wolf Parade | |||
| Wolf Parade chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Billboard | (not rated)[2] |
| Blender |  [3] |
| Pitchfork Media | (7.7/10) [4] |
| Pop Matters | (7/10) [5] |
| Rolling Stone | [6] |
| Spin | [7] |
At Mount Zoomer, the second full length LP from the Canadian indie rock band Wolf Parade, was released on June 17, 2008.[8]
Album title
The album is named after drummer Arlen Thompson's sound studio, Mount Zoomer, which apparently is "a B.C. euphemism for magic mushrooms and a nod to Montreal band, A Silver Mount Zion."[9] The LP was originally meant to be entitled Kissing the Beehive; however, due to possible copyright infringements in relation to Jonathan Carroll's 1997 novel of the same name, the album's title was changed. Spencer Krug said they "didn't know that was the title of a book... We might have to change it, but we might not. And we'll have to make it clear that it's not [named] after his book. It's a complicated situation."[10] It had also been reported earlier by Blender Magazine that the record was entitled Pardon My Blues;[11] however, on April 28, Sub Pop Records officially announced that the album's name would be At Mount Zoomer.[8][12]
Album overview
The band started playing new songs live that would end up on At Mount Zoomer as early as summer 2007. Among the first to be played were "Language City" and "Fine Young Cannibals".
According to singer Dan Boeckner, half of the album was recorded in Farnham, Quebec at Arcade Fire's Petite Église, an old church that was converted to a recording studio for the production of Neon Bible.[13] After touring the east coast in late 2007, Wolf Parade recorded the rest of the album at MIXart Studios in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.[13] Afterwards, the album was mixed at Arlen Thompson's sound studio, Mount Zoomer.[13]
The cover art for the new album features the work of Matt Moroz and Elizabeth Huey, depicting a battle scene between the two artists.[14]
The track "Call It a Ritual" was released by the band on April 14, 2008.[15]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Soldier's Grin" | Dan Boeckner | 4:37 |
| 2. | "Call It a Ritual" | Spencer Krug | 2:45 |
| 3. | "Language City" | Boeckner | 5:02 |
| 4. | "Bang Your Drum" | Krug | 3:10 |
| 5. | "California Dreamer" | Krug | 6:00 |
| 6. | "The Grey Estates" | Boeckner | 3:26 |
| 7. | "Fine Young Cannibals" | Boeckner | 6:31 |
| 8. | "An Animal in Your Care" | Krug | 4:19 |
| 9. | "Kissing the Beehive" |
| 10:52 |
| Total length: | 46:42 | ||
Personnel
- Wolf Parade - mixing, producing, "overdubs and vocals recorded by"
- Harris Newman - mastering
- Arlen Thompson - recording (tracks 1, 2, 4, 6-8), "one vocal recorded by"
- David Ferry - recording (tracks 3, 5, 9)
- Nick Petrowski - recording (tracks 3, 5, 9)
- David Smith - "some vocals recorded by"
- Jace Lasek - "some vocals recorded by"
- Elizabeth Huey - artwork
- Matt Moroz - artwork
References
- ^ Kahn, Corey. At Mount Zoomer at AllMusic
- ^ Billboard review
- ^ Blender review
- ^ Pitchfork Media review Archived June 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ PopMatters review
- ^ Rolling Stone review
- ^ Spin magazine review
- ^ a b Wolf Parade Discography, "At Mount Zoomer - SP720", Sub Pop Records, retrieved April 29, 2008.
- ^ Aubrey McInnis, "Wolf Parade march to their own beat" Archived December 18, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Fast Forward Weekly, Vol. 11 #35: Thursday, August 10, 2006.
- ^ Michael D. Ayers, "Wolf Parade Kicks Out The Jams On New Album", Billboard Magazine, April 11, 2008.
- ^ Blender Magazine, "2008 Rock & Roll User's Guide", blender.com, January 1, 2008.
- ^ Amy Phillips, "Wolf Parade Album Gets New Title" Archived April 30, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Pitchfork Media, April 28, 2008.
- ^ a b c Radio Free Canuckistan, "Dan Boeckner Interview", December 12, 2007.
- ^ Wolf Parade Fansite, "Cover Art", Nonstuff.com, August 23, 2007.
- ^ Mark Richardson, "Wolf Parade: "Call It A Ritual" - Mp3 Stream", Pitchfork Media, April 14, 2008.