Wolf Parade is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 2003 in Montreal. The band released three full-length albums before taking a five-year hiatus in 2011. They announced their return in 2016, releasing a self-titled EP in May of that year, and a fourth studio album, Cry Cry Cry, in October 2017. Their fifth studio album, Thin Mind, was released on January 24, 2020.
Wolf Parade began in April 2003, when former Frog Eyes member Spencer Krug was offered a gig by Grenadine Records' Alex Megelas. With only a three-week deadline to form a band, Krug contacted a fellow Canadian guitarist Dan Boeckner (formerly of British Columbia band Atlas Strategic) and began writing songs in Krug's apartment.[1] Initially using a drum machine for their rhythm section played through computer speakers, Krug later invited Arlen Thompson to the lineup as the drummer;[2] however, the newly formed trio rehearsed as a full band only the day before their first show.[2] During the tour, Wolf Parade recorded and released their self-titled debut EP (also known as their 4 Song EP).
In September 2003,[3] Hadji Bakara joined Wolf Parade, contributing his synthesizer and sound manipulation skills to the lineup.[1] By the summer of 2004 the band released its second independent, self-titled EP, commonly referred to as the 6 Song EP.
In September 2004, the band traveled to Portland, Oregon to record with Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock. Brock had recently signed the band to Sub Pop when he was an A&R man for the label at the time. He had known Dan Boeckner from his days in Atlas Strategic, who had toured with Modest Mouse and were offered a Sub Pop signing just before the band split up. Wolf Parade spent two and a half weeks working 14-hour days in Portland. After some remixing, the band returned to Montreal to finish recording. The album was scheduled for a May release, but then pushed back.[3] On its new record label, the band released its first widely distributed EP, Wolf Parade, in July 2005.
Dante DeCaro (formerly of Hot Hot Heat) joined sometime in 2005 as a second guitarist and percussionist.[1] In 2008, an arrangement by Kenji Fusé of the Wolf Parade song "I'll Believe in Anything" for full symphony orchestra received a reading by the Victoria Symphony.[7]
The band's second album, At Mount Zoomer, followed in June 2008.[8] An on-stage announcement[9] in November 2008 that Dante DeCaro would no longer be playing with the band was later revealed to have been a joke.[10] Hadji Bakara left the band in 2008 to pursue an academic career in literature.[11]
Wolf Parade reconvened in November 2009 to begin work on their third album, Expo 86. In an interview with Exclaim! magazine, Dan Boeckner stated that the album may be released as a double album or as an LP and an EP, given the sheer number of quality songs to come out of the sessions. The five members realized they had all been at Vancouver's World Fair in the same week when they were kids, which is how the album got its name.[12] The album was produced by Howard Bilerman and was released in the United States on June 29, 2010.[13]
Wolf Parade kicked off their 2010 North American tour in Montreal.[14] Following the tour, the band announced it would go on indefinite hiatus after playing a small number of shows in 2011, including the Sasquatch! Music Festival.[15]
On January 14, 2016, Wolf Parade updated their website adding "2016" and launched new Twitter and Instagram pages, indicating the band's return from hiatus.[16] The following day, they announced a series of concert dates for later that year, and that they had been working on new music.[17] On October 6, 2017 the band released their fourth album titled Cry Cry Cry.[18]
On February 4, 2019, Wolf Parade announced that Dante DeCaro had decided to leave the band and that they would carry on touring and composing as a trio.[19]
Wolf Parade released their fifth studio album, Thin Mind, on January 24, 2020.[20]
In April 2022, the band announced a series of shows where they would perform Apologies to the Queen Mary in its entirety. The band also confirmed that Bakara would return for the tour, marking his first shows with Wolf Parade in 14 years.[21]
Wolf Parade has been referred to as a "supergroup in reverse", as the members have achieved success with numerous projects formed after Wolf Parade.[22] Additionally, Dante DeCaro's previous band Hot Hot Heat had received acclaim for their first album, Make Up the Breakdown, prior to his departure. Below is a partial list of the members' other projects:
Spencer Krug releases solo music under the name of Moonface and is the lead singer of the recently-reunited rock band Sunset Rubdown.[23] He was previously in Frog Eyes, Fifths of Seven, and Swan Lake. Beginning in 2021, Krug began recording albums under his own name and on his own label Pronounced Kroog. As of June 2022, he has released two albums in this manner: Fading Graffiti[24] and Twenty Twenty Twenty Twenty One.[25]
Arlen Thompson played drums on the Arcade Fire song "Wake Up". He also helped produce both Handsome Furs albums at his Mount Zoomer recording studio in Montreal. He is a member of the side project formerly known as Treasure Hunt,[26] whose name was changed to avoid confusion[citation needed] with the moniker of experimental musician Myles Byrne-Dunhill.[27]
Dan Boeckner was formerly a member of the indie rock duo Handsome Furs which he formed with his now ex-wife, Alexei Perry. Before joining Wolf Parade, Boeckner played in Atlas Strategic. He would go on to play in the bands Divine Fits and Operators.[28] In 2022, Boeckner joined Arcade Fire in a session capacity, touring with the band in support of the band's sixth studio album, WE.
Hadji Bakara is a member of the synth-bass-dance-rap production team Megasoid, along with Speakerbruiser Rob, formerly Sixtoo. He also helped with treatments on "Black Mirror", "Neon Bible" and "My Body Is a Cage" off Arcade Fire's album Neon Bible.
