# I'll Believe in Anything (song)
"I'll Believe in Anything" is a song by the band Wolf Parade, written by Spencer Krug and released on September 27, 2005 on the album *Apologies to the Queen Mary* through Sub Pop Records.[1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHM4HUQkwUs) Krug, the band's singer and keyboardist,[2](https://pitchfork.com/news/spencer-krug-shares-new-solo-piano-version-of-ill-believe-in-anything/) wrote it as a solo song in his early-to-mid twenties, around 2003 or 2004, on a piano in a large inexpensive Montreal loft overlooking Saint-Laurent, initially under his Sunset Rubdown project name.[3](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/music/article-wolf-parade-spencer-krug-heated-rivalry-ill-believe-in-anything/) Produced by [Isaac Brock](https://www.edgepedia.org/isaac-brock), the track became a viral hit two decades after its release through its use in the television series *Heated Rivalry*.[1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHM4HUQkwUs) • [4](https://wolfparade.bandcamp.com/track/ill-believe-in-anything)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Written by | Spencer Krug, circa 2003–2004, on piano in a Montreal loft; first issued as a Sunset Rubdown song[3](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/music/article-wolf-parade-spencer-krug-heated-rivalry-ill-believe-in-anything/) • [5](https://songsense.io/wolf-parade/ill-believe-in-anything) |
| Album release | *Apologies to the Queen Mary*, September 27, 2005, Sub Pop Records[1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHM4HUQkwUs) |
| Production | Produced by Isaac Brock; mixed by Jace Lasek and Wolf Parade; recorded at Audible Alchemy and Breakglass Studios[1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHM4HUQkwUs) • [6](https://musicfactsdb.com/Recording/Index/4238561) |
| Signature sound | Opens with a Roland Jupiter 4 synthesizer arpeggiator in "random" mode; much of the recording is overlaid with a copy of the audio pitched down a fraction of a semitone[3](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/music/article-wolf-parade-spencer-krug-heated-rivalry-ill-believe-in-anything/) |
| Retrospective rankings | #95 on Pitchfork's Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s (2009); #42 on Beats Per Minute's Top 100 Tracks of the 2000s (2010)[7](https://www.acclaimedmusic.net/song/S9056.htm) |
| 2025 resurgence | Featured in *Heated Rivalry*; Spotify streams rose 2,658 percent after the December 19 episode[3](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/music/article-wolf-parade-spencer-krug-heated-rivalry-ill-believe-in-anything/) |
| Later versions | Trixie Mattel collaboration (Sub Pop); official solo piano version by Krug in early 2026[8](https://music.subpop.com/wolfparadetrixiemattel_illbelieveinanything) • [2](https://pitchfork.com/news/spencer-krug-shares-new-solo-piano-version-of-ill-believe-in-anything/) |
## Background and writing
Spencer Krug wrote "I'll Believe in Anything" as a solo song in his early-to-mid twenties, around 2003 or 2004, on a piano in a large inexpensive Montreal loft overlooking Saint-Laurent. At first it was a Sunset Rubdown song, the name under which Krug recorded his solo material. "I wrote it on that piano. I don't remember it taking very long," Krug told *The Globe and Mail*, adding that "Wolf Parade found what the song actually needed and wanted to be."[3](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/music/article-wolf-parade-spencer-krug-heated-rivalry-ill-believe-in-anything/)
The song's first commercial appearance was in fact under the Sunset Rubdown name: it was released in July 2005 under the title "I'll Believe in Anything You'll Believe in Anything" on Sunset Rubdown's debut album *Snake's Got a Leg*, before being re-arranged for Wolf Parade.[5](https://songsense.io/wolf-parade/ill-believe-in-anything) By the time the song reached *Apologies to the Queen Mary*, Wolf Parade had become a centerpiece of Montreal's now-storied 2000s indie-rock scene.[3](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/music/article-wolf-parade-spencer-krug-heated-rivalry-ill-believe-in-anything/)
## Recording and production
The album version was produced by Isaac Brock, with mixing credited to Jace Lasek and Wolf Parade.[1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHM4HUQkwUs) It was recorded at Audible Alchemy and Breakglass Studios.[6](https://musicfactsdb.com/Recording/Index/4238561) The recording credits Arlen Thompson on drums, Dan Boeckner on guitar, Hadji Bakara on electronic instruments and keyboard, and Spencer Krug on keyboard, piano, and lead vocals.[6](https://musicfactsdb.com/Recording/Index/4238561)
The track's distinctive sound comes from two production choices Krug has described. The song begins with notes produced by the arpeggiator of a Roland Jupiter 4 synthesizer in its "random" setting, and over much of the track Krug layered a duplicate of the original sound shifted down by a small fraction of a semitone, producing what he describes as a "strange warble."[3](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/music/article-wolf-parade-spencer-krug-heated-rivalry-ill-believe-in-anything/)
## Lyrics and interpretation
Krug has described the song as a love song about a couple who keep a relationship going in spite of its pitfalls.[3](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/music/article-wolf-parade-spencer-krug-heated-rivalry-ill-believe-in-anything/) It has also been interpreted as a song about codependency, mutual delusion, and the desperate lengths two people will go to protect their shared world.[5](https://songsense.io/wolf-parade/ill-believe-in-anything) Krug has also said he no longer strongly connects with his twenty-five-year-old self's writing and lets released songs "do their thing."[3](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/music/article-wolf-parade-spencer-krug-heated-rivalry-ill-believe-in-anything/)
## Release
"I'll Believe in Anything" appears on *Apologies to the Queen Mary*, released September 27, 2005 on Sub Pop Records.[1](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHM4HUQkwUs) • [4](https://wolfparade.bandcamp.com/track/ill-believe-in-anything) A standalone single version was released the same day, listed on Spotify at 4 minutes 43 seconds; the album recording runs 4:36.[9](https://open.spotify.com/album/2iSUFCuK5fU4yRCvKfVjmx) • [6](https://musicfactsdb.com/Recording/Index/4238561) The album was given a deluxe reissue on May 13, 2016, when Wolf Parade returned from a long hiatus, with the track remastered from its original version.[6](https://musicfactsdb.com/Recording/Index/4238561) • [10](https://soundcloud.com/wolfparade/ill-believe-in-anything)
## By the numbers
The song has accumulated steady retrospective recognition. Pitchfork placed it #95 on its Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s (2009), Beats Per Minute placed it #42 on its Top 100 Tracks of the 2000s (2010), and it appeared in Pitchfork's *The Pitchfork 500* (2008) and Indie88's Top 150 Canadian Songs of All Time (2017, unordered). On Acclaimed Music's aggregation of critical lists it ranks #4756 all-time, #545 for the 2000s, and #48 for 2005, in the indie rock genre.[7](https://www.acclaimedmusic.net/song/S9056.htm)
The 2025 television sync transformed its commercial standing. Spotify streams rose 2,658 percent after the *Heated Rivalry* episode aired December 19, 2025.[3](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/music/article-wolf-parade-spencer-krug-heated-rivalry-ill-believe-in-anything/) The song reached #7 on the US Rock Digital Song Sales chart and #4 on US Alternative Digital Song Sales.[5](https://songsense.io/wolf-parade/ill-believe-in-anything)
## Live performances and legacy
The song has been a live staple for Wolf Parade for two decades, with a hiatus during the 2010s; Krug says the band almost always plays it.[3](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/music/article-wolf-parade-spencer-krug-heated-rivalry-ill-believe-in-anything/) In 2022 the band performed a series of shows playing *Apologies to the Queen Mary* in full.[2](https://pitchfork.com/news/spencer-krug-shares-new-solo-piano-version-of-ill-believe-in-anything/)
Krug has made several solo versions of the song over the years. Following the song's viral resurgence, he debuted a new solo piano version at a Vancouver concert in late 2025 and released it officially in early 2026, writing on Instagram that it was "easily the best one, second only to Wolf Parade's rendition."[2](https://pitchfork.com/news/spencer-krug-shares-new-solo-piano-version-of-ill-believe-in-anything/) [Sub Pop](https://www.edgepedia.org/sub-pop) also released a collaboration version of the song featuring drag performer and musician [Trixie Mattel](https://www.edgepedia.org/trixie-mattel).[8](https://music.subpop.com/wolfparadetrixiemattel_illbelieveinanything)
## Heated Rivalry and renewed attention (2025–2026)
In late 2025 the song was featured in *Heated Rivalry*, directed by [Jacob Tierney](https://www.edgepedia.org/jacob-tierney), where it serves as a recurring motif for the characters Scott Hunter and Kip Grady and soundtracks their kiss in the fifth episode, which shares the song's name.[3](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/music/article-wolf-parade-spencer-krug-heated-rivalry-ill-believe-in-anything/) • [5](https://songsense.io/wolf-parade/ill-believe-in-anything) The sync went viral on TikTok and social media, driving the streaming spike and chart entries described above.[5](https://songsense.io/wolf-parade/ill-believe-in-anything)
The resurgence had a material effect on the album's availability. Sub Pop and Wolf Parade issued a new pink-vinyl pressing of *Apologies to the Queen Mary* in 2025, returning the long out-of-print album to its original single-LP format, which the label tied directly to the show introducing "I'll Believe in Anything" to a vast new audience as a bona fide viral hit.[4](https://wolfparade.bandcamp.com/track/ill-believe-in-anything)
## References
1. [I'll Believe In Anything (official audio, Sub Pop Records, YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHM4HUQkwUs)
2. [Spencer Krug Debuts Solo Piano Version of "I'll Believe in Anything" — Pitchfork](https://pitchfork.com/news/spencer-krug-shares-new-solo-piano-version-of-ill-believe-in-anything/)
3. [Wolf Parade's Spencer Krug on his music's viral moment, courtesy of Heated Rivalry — The Globe and Mail](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/music/article-wolf-parade-spencer-krug-heated-rivalry-ill-believe-in-anything/)
4. [I'll Believe In Anything | Wolf Parade (official Bandcamp)](https://wolfparade.bandcamp.com/track/ill-believe-in-anything)
5. [Meaning of "I'll Believe in Anything" by Wolf Parade — SongSense](https://songsense.io/wolf-parade/ill-believe-in-anything)
6. [MusicFactsDB: I'll Believe in Anything](https://musicfactsdb.com/Recording/Index/4238561)
7. [Acclaimed Music — Wolf Parade: I'll Believe in Anything](https://www.acclaimedmusic.net/song/S9056.htm)
8. [Wolf Parade, Trixie Mattel - "I'll Believe in Anything" (Sub Pop)](https://music.subpop.com/wolfparadetrixiemattel_illbelieveinanything)
9. [I'll Believe in Anything - Single by Wolf Parade | Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/album/2iSUFCuK5fU4yRCvKfVjmx)
10. [Stream I'll Believe In Anything by Wolf Parade | SoundCloud](https://soundcloud.com/wolfparade/ill-believe-in-anything)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Compositions and songs › Pop, rock, and metal songs › Alternative rock songs › 2000s and 2010s alternative songs*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license