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On September 9, Peter Wolf Crier will release it’s sophomore album, Garden of Arms. In anticipation of it, the Minneapolis duo of Peter Pisano(Wars of 1812) and Brian Moen(Laarks, Amateur Love) has made two of its tracks available. Direction-wise, these songs are meandering, preferring to fully explore the metaphorical fields they slowly open rather than rush through conventional configurations of verse-chorus pop structures.

In “Right Away,” Moen’s highly-syncopated and aggressive beat takes the lead on a song otherwise built from Pisano’s minimal but swelling instrumentation and haunting, echoing vocal patterns. Reaching just over three minutes, the song bunches up all of its energy and then lets it melt away in its later third, winding itself through a mostly instrumental – save for vocal effect – release.

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The latest mp3 to hit the internet is “Settling It Off,” a marching anthem that maintains a steady pace alongside a swaggered beat and hand clap pattern that may be the catchiest display of percussion we’ve ever heard from Moen. Underneath this, a simplistic guitar part accentuates the corners of the song, making hard turns and curling around its vocal hooks. Within the four and a half minute romp, the duo borrows rhythmic elements from hip-hop to pair alongside laid-back guitar parts, creating an aesthetic similar to but not nearly as abrasive as early-era Modest Mouse.

Without doubt, the two tracks are the best we’ve heard from Peter Wolf Crier. Improvements in song writing, recording quality, creative expression and collaboration are easy to pick out. Considering that Garden of Arms is so far a drastic improvement from its debut LP,  Inter-Be, which earned quite a bit of attention and a record deal from Jagjaguwar, Peter Wolf Crier may be on the verge of a breakthrough of sorts. Come September, we’ll be tracking the album’s progress as the band goes out on the first of its scheduled tours, and we expect big things.

- Andy Plank (August 10, 2011)