We Are Wolves becoming leader of Montreal pack
Somehow, over the last five or so years, there has been a ‘wolf' epidemic.
Wolf Eyes, Wolf Parade, AIDS Wolf, Wolfmother — all successful bands sharing the wolf moniker. And despite the fact that these bands really don't sound very much like one another, music journalists can't help but make the lazy comparisons.
Enter We Are Wolves, an electrified dance-punk group who are the latest incarnation of the trend. They play raucous, yet fun music inspired by ‘70s punk, albeit with influence from what could only be called dance-rock.
However their music is described, it can be agreed upon that the three members, Alexander Ortiz, Vincent Levesque and Antonin Marquis have been doing something right. From favourable live performance reviews from the New York Times and Spin to the positive reception of their newest album Total Magique, We Are Wolves are one Canadian band that many critics expect great things from.
One such reason for their rise has been attributed to their hometown, Montreal. With such a variety of music coming out of the city, from The Arcade Fire to Sam Roberts to AIDS Wolf and Wolf Parade (which has only further perpetuated the wolf comparisons), both the independent and mainstream markets have been saturated with content from Quebec's most populous city.
What is most interesting about this phenomenon, however, is that, unlike cities whose reputation is built on the success of a certain music style (Seattle, for instance), Montreal's sound has been a little more ambiguous.
“[Montreal artists] are well aware of what's going on musically around them and their music reflects that,” We Are Wolf drummer Antonin explained. “I mean, you can usually tell what the influences are for a band, but somehow, they will succeed at making it sound personal. That's maybe why there is no such thing as a ‘Montreal sound.'”
Certainly, the French influence is also apparent in We Are Wolves' live show, where the band chooses to communicate with the audience in their native language. They have stressed that this is not done for ego, though, it is merely the most natural form of expression for them.
Curiously, despite their Francophone tendencies, many of the band's lyrics are actually in English.
“I guess one of the reasons for that is that we all grew up listening to English punk and rock,” Antonin said. “It was only natural for us to come up with English lyrics for our songs. It was kind of the easy way out at first.”
But as the band has grown, they now outwardly embrace multilingualism, and have written songs in English, French and even Spanish.
Soon, the band will be heading overseas for their second European tour, but they will first be completing a North American stretch, which will find them in London on Monday, January 21 at Call The Office.
We Are Wolves are a spectacle not to be missed - critics agree that their live show is nothing short of magical.
Wolf Eyes, Wolf Parade, AIDS Wolf, Wolfmother — all successful bands sharing the wolf moniker. And despite the fact that these bands really don't sound very much like one another, music journalists can't help but make the lazy comparisons.
Enter We Are Wolves, an electrified dance-punk group who are the latest incarnation of the trend. They play raucous, yet fun music inspired by ‘70s punk, albeit with influence from what could only be called dance-rock.
However their music is described, it can be agreed upon that the three members, Alexander Ortiz, Vincent Levesque and Antonin Marquis have been doing something right. From favourable live performance reviews from the New York Times and Spin to the positive reception of their newest album Total Magique, We Are Wolves are one Canadian band that many critics expect great things from.
One such reason for their rise has been attributed to their hometown, Montreal. With such a variety of music coming out of the city, from The Arcade Fire to Sam Roberts to AIDS Wolf and Wolf Parade (which has only further perpetuated the wolf comparisons), both the independent and mainstream markets have been saturated with content from Quebec's most populous city.
What is most interesting about this phenomenon, however, is that, unlike cities whose reputation is built on the success of a certain music style (Seattle, for instance), Montreal's sound has been a little more ambiguous.
“[Montreal artists] are well aware of what's going on musically around them and their music reflects that,” We Are Wolf drummer Antonin explained. “I mean, you can usually tell what the influences are for a band, but somehow, they will succeed at making it sound personal. That's maybe why there is no such thing as a ‘Montreal sound.'”
Certainly, the French influence is also apparent in We Are Wolves' live show, where the band chooses to communicate with the audience in their native language. They have stressed that this is not done for ego, though, it is merely the most natural form of expression for them.
Curiously, despite their Francophone tendencies, many of the band's lyrics are actually in English.
“I guess one of the reasons for that is that we all grew up listening to English punk and rock,” Antonin said. “It was only natural for us to come up with English lyrics for our songs. It was kind of the easy way out at first.”
But as the band has grown, they now outwardly embrace multilingualism, and have written songs in English, French and even Spanish.
Soon, the band will be heading overseas for their second European tour, but they will first be completing a North American stretch, which will find them in London on Monday, January 21 at Call The Office.
We Are Wolves are a spectacle not to be missed - critics agree that their live show is nothing short of magical.
