My Latest Novel Issue #30

Wolves (The Worker's Institute)

By Anne C. Johnson
Published: December 1st, 2006 | 12:00am

Wolves seem to be everywhere lately: There’s Wolf Parade, Wolf Eyes, Wolfmother, and the horror film, Wolf Creek. Scotland’s My Latest Novel noticed the wolf motif — although their examples were much more highbrow, like Neil Gaiman’s The Wolves in the Walls — when they recorded, and they chose to name their theatrical and ambitious folk debut after these ubiquitous animals.  

There are lots of attempts at shaking up music and they often end with the same results, despite great efforts to do just the opposite. This five-piece idealistically wanted to transcend existing musical genres, but My Latest Novel is oft compared to Arcade Fire — and somewhat unfairly. Yes, there are similarities in the tone and instrumentation and both bands have a similar unstructured, epic quality. But they are distinctly different, possibly due to My Latest Novel being distinctly Scottish. My Latest Novel can, like the Polyphonic Spree, lean toward the precious — especially when joined by the Ravenscraig Primary School Choir on “Learning Leg” — but they have the potential to wreak emotional havoc as on “The Hope Edition.” 

If you happen to be a sucker for accents and are prone to weeping at the sound of strings, proceed with caution because another heartbreak of a song, “Sister Sneaker Sister Soul,” could emotionally annihilate. And the same goes for “Wrongfully, I Resisted.” My Latest Novel — very carefully — lightens the mood with songs like the slightly schlocky “The Job Mr. Kurtz.” Otherwise, Wolves might be too difficult to bear.