We Are Wolves - Non-Stop Je Te Plie en Deux

Yet another interesting band out of Montreal, the center of the indie-universe for the moment. We Are Wolves make cacophonic, angular, angst-riddled, post-punk noise rock. Comparisons to Les Georges Leningrad, Clinic and strangely, even Gang of Four, abound, but these comparisons only contain a thread of truth. A more apt comparison is to the one-man industrial art/noise band, Foetus. But while Foetus’ music usually was a bombastic and unrelenting noise assault, We Are Wolves is more staccato, which may be the thread in the Gang of Four comparison. But all comparisons aside, We Are Wolves is a trio made up of guitar and bass player Alexander, synthesizer/keyboard player Vini and drummer Antonin. But these guys can make quite a freakin’ racket. Cold and mechanical sheets of old school keyboard noise—and I do mean noise, no pretty synth soundscapes here----buzzes and spews over strong, hooky guitar lines. The listener would almost expect the vocals to follow suit in a cold, mechanical style, but no, not these guys. Instead bassist/lead vocalist Alexander barks out his bursts of angst like a rabble-rouser heralding a new totalitarian art regime. It’s tough to get a handle on what these guys are singing/screaming/bitching about, but whatever it is, it has greatly upset them. Song titles are in French and Spanish, as well as English, but the vocals are so buried in noise and/or effects I can barely make out any lyrics. In the song “Snare Me,” they yell something about bondage and (perhaps) borrowing a line from the Cramps, “…the smell of female.” And on the opening track lead singer Alexander insists that he “ain’t no little bird.” Indeed. But I think it’s safe to say that it isn’t about the lyrics. It’s about sonic Shock and Awe. If We Are Wolves comes to your town, bring ear plugs and maybe to be on the safe side, raw meat. [www.wearewolves.net]