Wolf Parade Apologies to the Queen Mary
Released Sep 27, 2005 Sub Pop Records
Established consensus 17 professional reviews Updated Aug 25, 2026
Broadly positive consensus
Wolf Parade's Apologies to the Queen Mary arrives as a restless debut that links percussive urgency and nostalgic new-wave references to anthemic emotional heft, and critics largely agree it's a striking first record.
How ChoruScore worksCritics' Top Tracks
The songs critics returned to most
I'll Believe In Anything
3 critic mentions
“Take Krug’s “I’ll Believe in Anything” or Boeckner’s “This Hearts on Fire” for example.” — PopMatters
Shine a Light
2 critic mentions
“Boeckner's best are the anthemic "Shine a Light” — Pitchfork
Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts
4 critic mentions
“Same Ghost Every Night and Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts actually sound more like stretched-out Frog Eye styled songs.” — No Ripcord
Full critic consensus
Wolf Parade's Apologies to the Queen Mary arrives as a restless debut that links percussive urgency and nostalgic new-wave references to anthemic emotional heft, and critics largely agree it's a striking first record. Across 17 professional reviews the collection earned an 81.59/100 consensus score, with reviewers repeatedly pointing to expansive, late-album highs and a duel of vocal personalities that give songs both raw vigor and lyrical ambiguity. Questions like "is Apologies to the Queen Mary good" are answered by a consistent critical consensus that praises its intensity even when the band courts eccentricity and partial incoherence.
Reviewers consistently flag standout tracks when asked for the best songs on Apologies to the Queen Mary. “I’ll Believe In Anything”, “Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts” and “Shine a Light” recur as highlights for their soaring anthemic builds, while critics also single out “Same Ghost Every Night” and the snarling charm of “Grounds for Divorce” as essential moments. Critics note themes of technology versus romance, urban imagery and nature longings threaded through lyrics that balance cynicism with intensity, making many tracks feel both immediate and emotionally resonant.
While praise dominates, reviewers temper enthusiasm with caveats about hype and occasional lyrical semi-coherence; some critics compare the record to Arcade Fire's sweep while also emphasizing Wolf Parade's more jagged eccentricity. The result is a debut whose epic songcraft and energetic performance mark it as worth exploring now, a record that stakes a credible claim in the indie-rock conversation and sets high expectations for what the band might do next.
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
You Are a Runner and I Am My Father's Son
Modern World
Grounds for Divorce
We Built Another World
Fancy Claps
Same Ghost Every Night
Shine a Light
Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts
I'll Believe In Anything
It's a Curse
Dinner Bells
This Heart's On Fire
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What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 17 critics who reviewed this album
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Critic's Take
In this review Jim Carroll finds that Wolf Parade's Apologies to the Queen Mary contains some of the best songs on the record, notably “I'll Believe In Anything” and “Shine a Light”. He writes in an exuberant, comparative tone that places the album alongside Arcade Fire's Funeral, arguing that the thrilling surge of “I'll Believe In Anything” and the driving force of “Shine a Light” make them the best tracks on Apologies to the Queen Mary. The praise is vivid and immediate, celebrating the band's ability to sustain a splendid, spirited buzz across these standout songs. The narrative centers on big music moments, breathless energy and emotionally resonant climaxes that mark the album's finest tracks.
Key Points
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The best song is "I'll Believe In Anything" because the reviewer calls it astonishing and equates its scope with Arcade Fire's high-water mark.
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The album's core strengths are its soaring, dramatic anthems and sustained energetic, spirited buzz.
Themes
Critic's Take
Wolf Parade's Apologies to the Queen Mary finds its best songs in the album's late flourish and Boeckner anthems, especially “Grounds for Divorce” and “I'll Believe In Anything”. Read closely and the best tracks on Apologies to the Queen Mary reveal themselves as emotional, anthemic, and oddly intimate, songs that turn everyday details into unexpectedly moving moments.
Key Points
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The best song is emotionally charged “I'll Believe In Anything”, singled out as one of the reviewer's favorites for its charm and extended blissful outro.
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The album's strength lies in duelling vocalists, vivid imagery, and turning ordinary moments into unexpectedly moving songs.
Themes
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Critic's Take
In his sharp, conversational tone David Ferris argues that Wolf Parade's Apologies to the Queen Mary finds its best moments in longer, epic pieces, singling out “Same Ghost Every Night” and “Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts” as fits of stretched-out, Frog Eyes-styled grandeur. He keeps the sentences direct and wry, noting that the band sometimes recalls Isaac Brock yet often transcends simple comparisons when tracks like “This Heart's On Fire” make four minutes feel like an odyssey. The review emphasizes the album's escape-from-technology themes and its knack for maintaining lyrical significance even when words are semi-coherent. The result is praise framed with skepticism about hype, presenting the best songs on Apologies to the Queen Mary as earnest, expansive standouts rather than instant-hooks.
Key Points
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The best song moments are the longer, epic tracks like "Same Ghost Every Night", which stretch the band's sound into Frog Eyes-styled grandeur.
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The album's core strengths are its epic songcraft, lyrical ambiguity that still feels significant, and an escapist disdain for technology.
Themes
Critic's Take
Wolf Parade sound like a band who have charged straight into the fray on Apologies to the Queen Mary, and the best songs - notably “Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts” and “I’ll Believe In Anything” - bear that out with ruthless intensity. Liam Colle’s voice here celebrates the album’s vigor and its knack for turning everyday frustration into something anthemic, so queries about the best songs on Apologies to the Queen Mary land on those two tracks first. The record’s unrefined, relentless playing and dynamic songwriting make those standouts stick in your head and under your skin. This is debut heat that feels like it could last, songs that matter right now rather than later.
Key Points
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“Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts” best encapsulates the album’s conversion of cynicism into urgent, anthemic feeling.
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The album’s core strength is relentless, unrefined playing married to dynamic, accessible songwriting and fierce vocal delivery.
Themes
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Critic's Take
Wolf Parade arrive on Apologies to the Queen Mary with a clamorous, percussive urgency that makes the best tracks irresistible: “You Are a Runner and I Am My Father's Son” kicks off with brilliant eccentricity and an ominous, muscular lurch, while “Same Ghost Every Night” gilds a majestic trundle with throat-shredding, owlish backing vocals. The reviewer's voice spends most of its admiration on those songs, praising the band's rabid mix of mighty quirk and emotional heft. If you search for the best songs on Apologies to the Queen Mary, these tracks repeatedly surface as highlights, alongside the goofily hooting charm of “Grounds for Divorce”.
Key Points
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The best song is the opening “You Are a Runner and I Am My Father's Son” for its brilliant eccentricity and Dan Boeckner's alien yelp.
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The album's core strengths are its percussive urgency, emotional heft, and a rabid mix of quirk and grandeur.
Themes
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