Right now, in the realm of band names, Pony is the new Wolf. Before that, of course, Wolf was the new The. But don’t hold that against Canadian electro/post-punk trio, We Are Wolves, who are by far my favourite Wolf band, and quite possibly one of my favourite bands overall. Similarly, don’t hold their band slogan, “A gang of three, four including rock,” against them either. I’m sure that phrase is a lot less lame in French. One of the pitfalls of bilingualism I guess.

Anyway, tomorrow is the worldwide release of Total Magique, the follow-up album to their absolutely superb debut, Non-Stop Je Te Plie En Deux (the Canadian release took place about a month ago). And you can stop collectively rolling your eyes, because it’s not all pretentious French art-rock. This is wonderfully hectic, synth-driven dance-punk at its very, very best. Likewise, don’t all rush over at once to violently lynch me if you disagree, but I think there’s an element of DFA79 in We Are Wolves. It’s the abrasive, sometimes animalistic, vocals; the distorted bass line and fuzzy analog synths; and the completely perfect rawness of it all which brings me to conclusion that in the world of experimental noise rock, the Canadians can do no wrong.

So check out L.L. Romeo, which featured on their 2005 debut (it’s old but amazing) and the brand new tracks Magique, Vietnam, and Walk Away Walk, which all appear on the upcoming Total Magique. I haven’t seen the latter two posted anywhere else yet, so…. you’re welcome. And you owe me a Vodka Redbull, ok?

-bec

We Are Wolves – L.L. Romeo

We Are Wolves – Magique

We Are Wolves – Vietnam

We Are Wolves – Walk Away Walk