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Unseen soundsWe Are Wolves overcome their
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by ERIK LEIJON There’s a precise moment during Invisible Violence, the latest album from local lupine electro-lovers We Are Wolves, that signals a surprising and welcome evolution beyond their typically reliable barrage of krautrock and dance punk. At 3:25 into “Walking Commotion,” the album’s third track, an acoustic guitar and string section grace what, up until that point, was a recognizably thumping We Are Wolves tune blending aggressive synths and shouted vocals. It’s atypical of their previous work, yet feels completely logical given the band’s development following their 2007 sophomore breakthrough, Total Magique. “We call it the Bowie part,” says keyboardist Vincent Levesque. “That song was the only one that wasn’t finished when we went into the studio. I had three chords and ’70s-style strings.” Levesque credits co-producer Radwan Ghazi Moumneh with pushing the band to embrace new sonic textures, resulting in a third album with considerable nuance—an important development given the energetic and brutish dance rock the group had been known for previously. “He was not afraid to push stuff on us. If it was only by ourselves, we might have been scared to go in a different direction.” Recording under fewer time constraints over two months this summer, as opposed to Total Magique’s inconsistent schedule, might have also given them more leeway to refresh their sound on Invisible Violence. It’s been 10 years since the trio, also featuring vocalist/bassist Alex Ortiz and drummer Antonin Marquis, casually began noodling around with making music as a means of decompressing between their university studies. The group has been adding influences to their stylistic jumble since then, and although Invisible Violence retains their original punk spirit, they’ve managed to incorporate more textures, especially arpeggios, this time around. “I don’t think it’s less punk,” Levesque says, “but I’d say there’s more beauty in the punk.” Pop might be an extreme word, but Levesque thinks that their own “intimate definition” of pop music elements have snuck their way onto their third record. “We evolved since our inception as a band. We learned to have better interaction between our instruments. We can bring focus onto one instrument at a time, instead of blasting all the way through.” CD LAUNCH AT LE NATIONAL ON |
