We Are Wolves: Invisible Violence

We Are Wolves’ third LP, Invisible Violence, blurs the lines between neo-garage, synth-washed post-punk, and—believe it or not—heavy metal. Like the Montreal trio’s first two albums, Invisible Violence features songs (particularly “Me As Enemy” and “Holding Hands”) that thrash away, all herky-jerky, bleeding noise. But the new record also varies the energy by working at slower speeds and with more straightforward death-disco beats. We Are Wolves are at their most exciting when they mix up their approach within a single song, as on “Dreams,” which changes styles so much that the song becomes like a three-minute distillation of an expansive rock epic. (“Dreams” finds frontman Alexander Ortiz singing about premonitions in his usual sandpapery, Ozzy Osbourne-like voice, which only reinforces the perception.) Invisible Violence hits a wall after a while, since We Are Wolves are apparently only willing to descend so deeply into murk and mayhem. The record could stand to be a little harder and freer. But the band does paint a vivid picture in songs like the opener, “Paloma,” which combines an insistent rhythm and shards of jagged sound, like a go-go dancer’s nightmare.