I’m just going to rip the band aid off and get this out of the way so I can focus on the actual task at hand: Wolf Parade. Wolf Parade, Wolf Parade, Wolf Parade. Spencer Krug, Dan Boeckner, Wolf Parade. Black Hat Brigade sound like Wolf Parade. Very, very much like Wolf Parade. Do they rip Wolf Parade off? No. They just sound similar. Is this a crime? I think not, especially when you’rer this good. But I’m getting to that. Anyways. Wolf Parade. There I said it. Moving on.

It’s hard to write this review without referring to Wolf Parade. It’s actually a good place to start when discussing this album. One thing is certain: this is a good album. This is catchy and moving indie rock. Indie as a genre. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s Canadian in origin (Note: just checked…..it is). I also believe Wolf Parade to be one of the finest bands of the past decade. I solidly believe that “I’ll Believe In Anything” is the best song of the decade, so sounding like Wolf Parade is not a bad thing if anything it’s a compliment.

So where do I get off comparing Black Hat Brigade (MySpace) to Wolf Parade (oh crap…those names rhyme….really hope that was unintentional)? Is this a case of mining similar influences and maybe having a similar sounding frontman? A Vampire Weekend sounding like Paul Simon or an Editors sounding like Interpol sort of thing? Or is this just a blatant rip off?

I think the main point of comparison are the vocals, which oddly enough, sound like a mix of Spencer Krug and Dan Boeckner (I’d put them at about 67% Boeckner and 33% Krug). Combine that with the occasional use of a theremin-sounding keyboard and Modest Mouse as filtered through Bruce Springsteen guitar driven songs that can be classified as emotional indie rock and it’s easy to see where these comparisons arise from. Really though, it’s mostly the voice.

And while I’m at it, let me say that only four of the nine songs on this album sound like Wolf Parade….(the other five sound like the Sunset Rubdown or the Handsome Furs! Sorry, that was a cheap joke). Now I will admit these are the four best songs on the album (Kitchen Party, Zombie City Shake, Castlevania, and Lost Boys, for those of you keeping score at home).

After all of that talk about Wolf Parade (and sadly, I’ve said “Wolf Parade” more times during the course of this review than I have “Black Hat Brigade”, which is unfair to the Black Hat Brigade) I should mention that this is actually a very strong album. I generally can tell if I like an album by what I do when it finishes playing. If I go right back to the beginning, I like it. I’m on my third consecutive listen of this album now. The opening two track of this album (Kitchen Party and Zombie City Shake) especially are impressive with strong hooks and a great sense of dynamics. Like Wolf Parade (sorry!), Black Hat Brigade knows how to make a big and dramatic sound. I’m often reminded of the “I’ll Believe In Anything” (ahh! Sorry, I can’t not make these comparisions!), with it’s huge anthemic sound and somewhat orchestral take on indie rock.

In conclusion, this album is really enjoyable, Black Hat Brigade are a band to watch (now and in the future) as well as a band to catch live, and I’m a terrible reviewer because I said “Wolf Parade” 17 times in this review (and alluded to it’s members, songs, or side projects an additional 8 times) and I said “Black Hat Brigade” 5 times.

[mp3] Black Hat Brigade – “Zombie City Shake” [MySpace]

Last 5 posts by Tom Williams

• If I had to pick ONE band to become 'Indie Superstars' in the next year... - July 9th, 2010
• Perfume Genius Smells Like Amazing - July 8th, 2010
• This Is Cool: Kid A: Reimagined - May 21st, 2010
• Jeff Mangum (5/6/10, Le Poisson Rouge, NYC) - May 7th, 2010
• EMusic Interviews Uber Influential Black Tambourine - March 31st, 2010