Wolf Parade

Wolf Parade wasn’t a standard victim of the sophomore slump. Frontman Spencer Krug has his hands in more musical chocolate pots than a stoned Augustus Gloop, and that may be why Wolf Parade’s second album At Mount Zoomer might have packed a smidge too much into a single serving. Following up the virtually universal acclaim of their debut, Apologies to Queen Mary, may have been a death sentence in itself. But the more Krug dabbles in each of his half-dozen musical projects (Handsome Furs, Frog Eyes, Swan Lake, Sunset Rubdown), the more their sounds blend together into one less distinctive style. On Wolf Parade’s third album Expo 86, Krug has returned to the stripped-down construction and climactic structures of Apologies to Queen Mary. The layers of sound that give Krug’s music its texture are still there, but they’re pronounced and isolated much like Handsome Furs’ minimal, uptempo rock-tronica. (Saturday, 6:15-7:25, Aluminum Stage) –text: James H. Ewert Jr.