At Mount Zoomer

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." 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." It had also been reported earlier by Blender Magazine that the record was entitled Pardon My Blues; however, on April 28, Sub Pop Records officially announced that the album's name would be At Mount Zoomer.

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. After touring the east coast in late 2007, Wolf Parade recorded the rest of the album at MIXart Studios in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Afterwards, the album was mixed at Arlen Thompson's sound studio, Mount Zoomer.

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

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

Track listing

1. "Soldier's Grin" (Boeckner) – 4:37
2. "Call It a Ritual" (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