To be frank, I get baffled by the hyperbole concerning this band. Since their 2005 debut "Apologies To The Queen Mary", the four piece have been heralded as the saviours of Indie Rock. Frequently mentioned with the same obsessive fervour as another band from Montreal we are all familiar with, the weight of expectation for this, their sophomore long player, is palpably explosive. Their record label (Sub Pop) released the most deliberately ambiguous press release to further increase the anticipation. They said "The legion of bearded, sweater-vested critics will want to file this album under ‘Prog Rock’ because it doesn’t offer up sugary cast-offs for the short-attention-span set, but no one ever danced to The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. It might instead be this generation’s Marquee Moon, or an indie rock Chinese Democracy released thirty years early and sixty million dollars under budget (and without cornrows, to boot)". It’s unadulterated drivel, and after you sew your sides back on you’ll realize "At Mount Zoomer" is not Prog, you can’t dance to it, shouldn’t even be mentioned in the same sentence as "Marquee Moon", and doesn’t everyone just take the cheap shot at Axl these days anyway?
There’s no denying that "Mount Zoomer" is a more relaxed affair than its predecessor. Weeks holed up in Arcade Fire’s church, developing long jams, it feels like the band are pushing around musical ideas that are decidedly more intricate in scope. The results are rarely exhilarating, save the closer "Kissing The Beehive", a genuinely rich mix of 70s Prog and 80s new wave that is invigorating in its conception, anthemic in its execution. Much of the remaining eight songs are workmanlike mid tempo Pop/Rockers that are stylish but faceless. Comparisons to a plethora of similar acts are natural (Spoon and naturally Modest Mouse come to mind), and the toothless facet of the album isn’t helped at times by their weedy vocal performance. There are moments ("Call It A Ritual" for example) where it seems the heavily echoed voice is mastered somewhere behind the instrumental tracks and at a far lower decibel rate so it becomes an effective washout. It’s not all disappointment, but the highs are rare. "California Dreamer", "The Grey Estates" and of course the closer carry the album. The rest just doesn’t capitalize on the individualistic charm the band showed in abundance on their debut.
It’s all pretty non-descript. Hapless pap from zap-less chaps…let’s hope that next time they find their true identity.
6/10
