The wolf is a noble animal. It’s no surprise that so many bands looking to channel their primal animal spirits look to the wolf as their totem of choice. Their gleaming fangs, sharp eyes and proud demeanour are all traits that anyone would want to demonstrate. With bands like Wolf Eyes, Wolfmother, Wolf Parade and AIDS Wolf all howling to the moon in honour of the gallant and terrifying animal, there’s a proud history of splendid bands taking up the lupous moniker.
Montreal’s dance rockers We Are Wolves are an entirely different act in the lupine pack. With inevitable comparisons to Wolf Parade–also from Montreal–due to the name, We Are Wolves sometimes live in the shadow of their indie rock alpha male. Every lazy journalist inevitably asks a variant of “What’s it like to have a similar name with darlings Wolf Parade?” No one asks the truly hard-hitting, important question though: could they take over the Montreal wolf leadership reigns with an epic West Side Story dance battle? One quick trip to Wikipedia later, the answer is within reach.
“We don’t want to start a fight with them, but they’re never in town anyway,” laughs Vincent Levesque, keyboardist in We Are Wolves. “I’d say for sure that we’d be the Sharks. Our singer is Latino and the Sharks were the Puerto Rico guys. So I guess they’d be the Jets.”
Okay, maybe not necessarily. One of the most shocking things about Vincent’s voice is that he speaks in a foreign accent that might seem unfamiliar to the Calgary crowd. We Are Wolves are one of the few bands in a long history of acts out of Montreal that is getting national attention–but unlike all the other acts, they’re French Canadians. Even though they have francophone roots, they’re willing to sing in English and French, which has given them the opportunity to tour extensively in European music festivals.
“The music is actually well-received all over the world,” says Levesque. “We’ve played tours in all of Europe, including this show in a little German town. Even though it was a little town, that show had everyone rocking out.”
Levesque mentions that even though the band has received recognition in Europe, their albums haven’t sold as much as in the United States or in Canada.
“The only thing is that people don’t tend to know who we are due to our poor distribution in Europe,” sighs Levesque.
One of the most important traits about We Are Wolves is their prevalence of the crunchy riffs that can make anyone–including the most jaded of too-cool-for-school music fan–attempt to bust a bit of a move out on the dance floor. Because these nerds may not have danced since those horribly awkward Grade 10 gym classes in their youth, Levesque offers some tips.
“I don’t know if I should be giving advice, as I’m a bit of a geek myself,” laughs Levesque. “You have to forget about what you learned. You can do a little bit of a head banging move but that might be a bit too much of a rock thing. To really impress the ladies, you should move your hips a little bit. It definitely helps.”
Such sage words are usually left unspoken to the young, confused men on the dance floors. It just goes to show that We Are Wolves aren’t afraid to share that information to help out their fellow man. Just like how a wolf pack will help a young pup survive a cold winter in the forest, they’re willing to help a young uncoordinated dork hit the floor with all the right moves. While the band has yet to become the alpha male in the Montreal music scene, it doesn’t mean they’re not moving up in the ranks.
Before he hangs up, Levesque offers one final little bit of advice for those young men out there who may not know what to wear to their Sun., Jan. 27 show.
“The shoes are pretty important,” explains Levesque. “What also helps is wearing the puffy shirt, like from Seinfeld.”
We Are Wolves hits up the new Republik on 17th Ave. Sun., Jan. 27 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $5 at the door.