WOLF AM I - LEAD THE WAY
August 05, 2009,
Written by Jack Phillips
Buy: Amazon
Wolf Am I is apparently the coming together of members of various bands to start a new 'chapter.' Chapter seems a bit much, changing the bands name and swapping one member for another is more of a new paragraph than a new chapter. Effectively, Lead The Way is Kill The Arcade's posthumous album.
It's an impressively powerful affair, as you'd expect coming from the majority of Kill The Arcade but when it's put into context with their probable influences, the likes of Brand New, Manchester Orchestra or At The Drive In, things feel ultimately disappointing. There's no Jesse Lacey growl, no clever descriptive lyrics, but there are driving guitars and Wolf Am I aren't afraid to drop things down to explode out again, like on The Good Life (1975), but things too often get a bit 30 Seconds To Mars. The shouty bits aren't shouty enough, becoming exactly that of 30 STM. A trait that near ruins the cathartic Bon Voyage.
That doesn't mean there is nothing good about Wolf Am I, Down At The Golden Cup is a fair chunk of good old power-pop-punk, the downbeat chorus of Lex Talionis and on Lead The Way also show what could have been. It is here where it is most obviously their own sound, and they sounds better for it. They aren't trying to be something they can't, let alone something they're not.
The key thing though is the lack of a real anthem, a song that is impossible not to like. Nothing is ultimately memorable and will cement them into your iTunes. The best thing to do is keep listening to Deja Entendu and wait patiently for Brand New's new album to come out instead.
6/10
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6 responses so far...
Richard
noo bon voyage is the anthem man! haha i havent heard the whole thing yet but i get the feeling i like them more than this reviewer. Anyway each to his own and all that
Andre
good stuff!
Jord
I hope you don't review bands for a living, because if so your crashing and burning. The lack of description of the album the theme's and soundscapes that each track has, leaves only someone with half a brain cell to believe that this review is honest and professional. What does Brand New have to do with Wolf Am I?
Nothing.
Rob
Jord: a bit harsh, mate. He's using Brand New as a comparison - he clearly thinks they take a lot of influence from that band but fall short of anything close to what they do. I've listened to Wolf Am I a little bit and am inclined to agree. It's not the greatest written review ever, but then, it's in better English than your comment was and was, in the end, reasonably positive despite the fact that this band are clearly doing nothing new whatsoever.
Oliver
The reason why I think Jack mentioned Brand New is that all the press releases mention the fact that they sound similar to Brand New. This was taken from several different print magazines that have mentioned the comparison. So to be honest, you saying Brand New have nothing to do with this band is pretty odd. I've heard them and I agree that they sound similar. Are comparisons not allowed in reviews? Generally that's a pretty good way of informing a reader of what to expect
JackP
Think I should make my points. Like I said, the Brand New comments are for context - put the album into perspective with the bands they are heavily influenced by then they fall short. In my opinion, obviously. The songs themselves sound somewhat flimsy, way too preened and lacking in any real guts or originality. Again, this is only my opinion, of course.
danny - 12/03/10
This is absolute, unmitigated, GENIUS. Contender for my favourite video ever I think! Absolutely sick song too, prefer it to Ambling Alp fo sho. [view article]
danny - 12/03/10
This girl is amaaaazing! [view article]
duncan - 12/03/10
Nirvana, mainly because they were over and done with before I was musically conscious so Dave Grohl couldn't ruin them for me by how intrinsically annoying he is. [view article]
Will - 12/03/10
We are including all his musical directions in the debate, which is why we're discussing whether he was better in Foo Fighters or Probot also. Facts are he is a better drummer than he is a guitarist or vocalist, and as we're debating which band he was best in rather than which band he made the best, he thus performed better in Nirvana and QOTSA. To repeat what some of the others have said, he's been good in Foos and had a lot of fame, but hasn't been nearly as influential or impressive as in the bands beforehand. [view article]
Aaron - 11/03/10
Sure, but since Grohl has played his hand at many different musical directions its important to include all of them in this debate in order to find out when he was at his best. Otherwise It'd be a debate about when he was the best drummer... For the record, I do think he's a really good drummer. But doesn't it take a little something away from QOTSA as a band and Grohl himself, if were just going to consider his one off involvement with the group as his crowning moment? I've always been a fan of that band, way before Grohl ever did SFTD with them and though he was a great addition, it's not like the album was carried on his drumming alone. QOTSA are an awesome band regardless of whether Grohl played with them or not. [view article]