Wolf Parade: Expo 86

If you thought At Mount Zoomer was a cohesive effort for Montreal's terse indie-pop boy band Wolf Parade, Expo 86 tightens the focus even further. "Cloud Shadow on the Mountain" opens the album with a bold, don't-look-back swagger that hovers on the verge of busting wide open. But it never does, setting things in motion with marvelous, unresolved tension. "Palm Road" revisits the slow buildup to crescendo that has given the songs strength from the beginning. But here, it becomes formulaic as keyboards and guitars reach a happy middle ground in "What Did My Lover Say?" and "Ghost Pressure." Expo 86 reaches cruising altitude early on and maintains an even trajectory throughout. It's not a bad album by any means, but there is no sense of searching, no danger whatsoever. The band has learned its craft and it plays it safely. (3 out of 5 stars)