Image via Cobra Camanda Publicity

From Guitar Wolf to Wolf Parade, so many bands have dropped “Wolf” into their name that the word itself has begun to lose all meaning.  So much so, in fact, that musicians have been forced to get doubly creative: naming bands in French (Le Loup); inventing new lupine species (Sea Wolf); focusing on one particularly awesome aspect of the animal (Wolf Eyes); or just tossing aside all nomenclatural frills and reverting to the root word itself (plain-old Wolf, an exquisitely Swedish — and highly recommended — metal band).

We Are Wolves is not just another wolf band.  Sure, they’re fierce and all — notably lead singer Alexander Ortiz, who sounds like a Sabbath-era Ozzy Osbourne, complete with dove-blood.  But Ortiz know how to keep his teeth clean and his pack tight.  We Are Wolves is a slick, electrified spin on the feral prototype: The Pixies but digital, Death From Above 1979 but well-honed.  Their third album Invisible Violence (out yesterday on Dare to Care Records) is an exercise in toothy, animalistic electro-rock, opening with the playful Spanish-infused choruses of “Paloma” and morphing into snarling punk with “Holding Hands.”  Softer, synth-cushioned tracks like “Blue” crop up later in the album, but by then We Are Wolves has made a point of showing their teeth — and making a lasting impression on anyone who thought that wolf bands were for the sheep.

We Are Wolves will play a late-night set at the Hot Chip after-party at Brooklyn Bowl this Saturday.  Tickets are available through Going.