At Mount Zoomer

At Mount Zoomer, the second full length LP from the Canadian indie rock band Wolf Parade, was released on June 17, 2008.[1]

At Mount Zoomer
Studio album by Wolf Parade
Released	June 17, 2008
Recorded	Petite Église: Farnham MIXart Studios: Montreal Mount Zoomer: Montreal
Genre	Indie rock
Length	46:42
Label	Sub Pop
Producer	Wolf Parade
Wolf Parade chronology
Apologies to the Queen Mary (2005) At Mount Zoomer (2008) Expo 86 (2010)

Album title

The album is named after drummer Arlen Thompson's sound studio, Mount Zoomer, which apparently is "a B.C. euphemism for magic mushrooms and a nod to Montreal band, A Silver Mount Zion."[2] The LP was originally meant to be entitled Kissing the Beehive; however, due to possible copyright infringements in relation to Jonathan Carroll's 1997 novel of the same name, the album's title was changed. Spencer Krug said they "didn't know that was the title of a book... We might have to change it, but we might not. And we'll have to make it clear that it's not [named] after his book. It's a complicated situation."[3] It had also been reported earlier by Blender Magazine that the record was entitled Pardon My Blues;[4] however, on April 28, Sub Pop Records officially announced that the album's name would be At Mount Zoomer.[1][5]

Album overview

The band started playing new songs live that would end up on At Mount Zoomer as early as summer 2007. Among the first to be played were "Language City" and "Fine Young Cannibals".

According to singer Dan Boeckner, half of the album was recorded in Farnham, Quebec at Arcade Fire's Petite Église, an old church that was converted to a recording studio for the production of Neon Bible.[6] After touring the east coast in late 2007, Wolf Parade recorded the rest of the album at MIXart Studios in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.[6] Afterwards, the album was mixed at Arlen Thompson's sound studio, Mount Zoomer.[6]

The cover art for the album features the work of Matt Moroz and Elizabeth Huey, depicting a battle scene between the two artists.[7]

The track "Call It a Ritual" was released by the band on April 14, 2008.[8]

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	78/100[9]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[10]
Billboard	(not rated)[11]
Blender	[12]
Pitchfork Media	(7.7/10) [13]
Pop Matters	(7/10) [14]
Rolling Stone	[15]
Spin	[16]

At Mount Zoomer received positive reviews from critics. On Metacritic, the album holds a score of 78/100 based on 28 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews."[9]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Soldier's Grin"	Dan Boeckner	4:37
2.	"Call It a Ritual"	Spencer Krug	2:45
3.	"Language City"	Boeckner	5:02
4.	"Bang Your Drum"	Krug	3:10
5.	"California Dreamer"	Krug	6:00
6.	"The Grey Estates"	Boeckner	3:26
7.	"Fine Young Cannibals"	Boeckner	6:31
8.	"An Animal in Your Care"	Krug	4:19
9.	"Kissing the Beehive"	Boeckner Krug	10:52
Total length:			46:42

Personnel

• Wolf Parade - mixing, producing, "overdubs and vocals recorded by"
• Harris Newman - mastering
• Arlen Thompson - recording (tracks 1, 2, 4, 6-8), "one vocal recorded by"
• David Ferry - recording (tracks 3, 5, 9)
• Nick Petrowski - recording (tracks 3, 5, 9)
• David Smith - "some vocals recorded by"
• Jace Lasek - "some vocals recorded by"
• Elizabeth Huey - artwork
• Matt Moroz - artwork

References

1. Wolf Parade Discography, "At Mount Zoomer - SP720", Sub Pop Records, retrieved April 29, 2008.
2. Aubrey McInnis, "Wolf Parade march to their own beat" Archived December 18, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, Fast Forward Weekly, Vol. 11 #35: Thursday, August 10, 2006.
3. Michael D. Ayers, "Wolf Parade Kicks Out The Jams On New Album", Billboard Magazine, April 11, 2008.
4. Blender Magazine, "2008 Rock & Roll User's Guide", blender.com, January 1, 2008.
5. Amy Phillips, "Wolf Parade Album Gets New Title" Archived April 30, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Pitchfork Media, April 28, 2008.
6. Radio Free Canuckistan, "Dan Boeckner Interview", December 12, 2007.
7. Wolf Parade Fansite, "Cover Art", Nonstuff.com, August 23, 2007.
8. Mark Richardson, "Wolf Parade: "Call It A Ritual" - Mp3 Stream", Pitchfork Media, April 14, 2008.
9. "At Mount Zoomer by Wolf Parade Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
10. Kahn, Corey. At Mount Zoomer at AllMusic
11. Billboard review
12. Blender review
13. Pitchfork Media review Archived June 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
14. PopMatters review
15. Rolling Stone review
16. Spin magazine review