We Are Wolves

Canada's We Are Wolves epitomizes the evolution of the band's American label, Fat Possum Records. That Oxford, Mississippi-based firm first made its name by championing blues artists such as R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough and T-Model Ford, whose rough-hewn stylings contrasted with the slick products put out by more commercially cautious roots operations. Over time, however, Fat Possum reached out to the Black Keys and other contemporary acts that use blues as a foundation on which to build rudimentary guitar-and-drums rock. Given their fondness for supplementing standard rock instrumentation with primitive synthesizers and beatboxes, the Wolves would seem to represent a break from even this updated approach -- but Non-Stop, their debut CD for the imprint, isn't as large a departure as it initially seems. Although "Moi, Rythme Magique," "T.R.O.U.B.L.E." and "We Are All Winners," among others, employ plenty of electronics, they're as nasty, rude and raucous as anything in the company's catalogue. In other words, the Wolves, who appear at the Larimer Lounge alongside Monofog and the Gossip, capture Burnside's spirit without sounding anything like him. That's evolutionary.