Sunset Rubdown Albums (4)
What The Critics Say
Maintaining the adventurous nature that makes Sunset Rubdown Spencer Krug's most ambitious project, Dragonslayer is a tightly woven and surprisingly effortless listen. Third time's a charm, as they say, and here it seems that Krug has struck that perfect balance between eclectic and poppy. It's a fine line, but Sunset Rubdown tread it well, never seeming too careful and never stepping on a hook with their trademark spiraling solos and splintering changes. Although the band deconstructs the typical verse-chorus formula and the songs usually break the five-minute mark ("Dragon's Lair" exceeds ten minutes), the melodies of "Idiot Heart" and opener "Silver Moons" are instantly memorable, sounding nearly classic. The latter song is a piano ballad with elements of glam rock, that, once again, takes a cue from David Bowie -- but this time appropriating Ziggy Stardust moves rather than drawing influence from Bowie's Berlin era. Sure, the music is challenging -- it's complex, musically and thematically. Art rock's not supposed to be easy. But as carefully crafted as it is, this is the group's most accessible record yet. And it's a damn fine one at that. ~ Jason Lymangrover, All Music Guide
'Random Spirit Lover'
Release Date 1/1/2007
Tracks 12
Label Jagjaguwar
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What The Critics Say
Vocalist/keyboardist/mad pop scientist Spencer Krug made the jump from California (Absolutely Kosher) to the Midwest (Indiana-based Jagjaguwar) for 2007's Random Spirit Lover, a cacophonous slab of 12 tracks that bleed into each other like a dismembered, dystopian version of the Flaming Lips' Soft Bulletin. The occasional Frog Eyes and full-time Wolf Parade member's third foray into the solo world feels a lot less like a foray and more like a firm commitment. Like Frog Eyes, Krug weaves fractured, complex, cacophonous pop songs glued together by a distinct love for melody, but where Frog Eyes wants to violate every part of your body, Sunset Rubdown wants you to stick around and watch the carnage, not be a part of it. Random Spirit Lover bristles with the same manic energy and odd beauty that made 2006's Shut Up I Am Dreaming so rich. Part lo-fi bedroom project and part hi-fi tribute to the excesses of '70s art rock, standout rockers like "Mending of the Gown," "Up on Your Leopard, Upon the End of Your Feral Days," and "Taming of the Hands That Came Back to Life" never stick around long enough to grow tiresome, as Krug keeps things economical. Fans of "Blackberry Way"-era Move, Berlin-era Bowie, late-period Of Montreal, and the Danielson Famile will eat this up like the candy it is. ~ James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide
'Shut Up I Am Dreaming'
Release Date 1/1/2006
Tracks 10
Label EMI Australia
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What The Critics Say
Wolf Parade's Spencer Krug peppers his songs with the same British affectations that fuel fellow Canadian Dan Bejar's skewed indie pop, but where Destroyer flirts dangerously with pre-Berlin-era David Bowie, Krug's formidable side project Sunset Rubdown seems intent on channeling early Gary Numan. Shut Up I Am Dreaming is pure bedroom art-pop with a thin Britpop glaze that is as poignant and self-effacing as it is self-conscious and pretentious. Krug starts things off with a bang on "Stadiums and Shrines II," an explosive piece of self-propaganda that utilizes Wolf Parade's manic energy, Arcade Fire's willful introspection, and Frog Eyes' vocal shudder -- Krug has moonlighted as a Frog Eye in the past -- with the kind of apocalyptic results that are usually reserved for album end pieces. It's a bold move, but it helps the listener figure out whether or not the road is worth taking in the first five minutes of the record, as what follows both expounds and splinters off from it. Utilizing an arsenal of keyboards, xylophones, treated guitars, and compressed drums, Krug can take a line like "If I ever hurt you it will be in self-defense," from the fractured and haunting "The Empty Threats of Little Lord," and make it sound both meek and imposing, showing a real knack for the kind of literate imagery so effortlessly flung by the aforementioned Bejar. Some of Dreaming's tracks meander too far and too long, illuminating the downside of home recording (no editor), but there's a melodious after-burn at work here that's missing from Krug's work with the more accessible Wolf Parade, and one that's not likely to flame out over the span of future recordings. ~ James Christopher Monger, All Music Guide
'Snake's Got a Leg'
Release Date 1/1/2005
Tracks 12
Label Global Symphonic
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