In place of my regularly scheduled New Music Tuesday feature, and in honor of today's official hard copy release of Sunset Rubdown's Dragonslayer -- now available at a fine independent record store near you! -- Vague Space declares today Sunset Rubdown Day, a day for all to enjoy the joy and wonder and beauty that is the music of this seemingly ordinary human named Spencer Krug who has spent the past five years making music of the gods. Any regular readers of this blog knows that Sunset Rubdown is my favorite band right now, so my glowing review of their new album may come off as a little biased. As such, I've included some quotes from other sources that have been gathered around the Internet this weekend. Believe me, I'm not alone. This is some historically, monumentally brilliant shit going on here. I'm just glad to be listening...
Drowned in Sound, Jun. 19 (10 out of 10 review)
Spencer Krug dispatches the line "maybe those days are over, over now..." with such conviction you'd think civilization had come to an end, and we failed… but didn't it make pretty colours as it burned? As the song plays out, "...under all the folds of the dresses that you wear / there’s an ocean and a tide / a riot in the square..." is sung with such reverie that you remember 'apocalypse' just means 'unveiling' – that all this is a dance, and if it's going to end, there's something erotic in having been there… That’s just the opening.
Obscure Sound, May 26 (9 out of 10)
Krug shows he can create vivid folk on “Nightingale / December Song”, nostalgic arena-rock on “Idiot Heart” and “Dragon’s Lair”, and fist-pumping anthems in “Black Swan”, but stylistic multifariousness is not the sole reason for Dragonslayer’s apparent success. It is the consistency, thematic focus, and sheer ability throughout the album that makes this one a potential classic. If anything, Dragonslayer will eventually serve as a reminder of Sunset Rubdown’s dominance after their days are over. After all, this decade deserves quality representatives.
In less than five minutes, “Silver Moons”—the opener from Sunset Rubdown’s fourth album, Dragonslayer—moves through gentle exposition, a bell-driven march, and a gorgeous bridge composed of only voice and piano, before finishing with high harmonies floating atop a squall of feedback. It isn’t a song so much as a journey, and as with the rest of Dragonslayer, its epic ambitions are fulfilled. Frontman Spencer Krug—who’s also integral to Canadian indie acts Wolf Parade and Swan Lake—has crafted a record more complicated and accessible than any he’s done before, with eight songs, but dozens of discrete musical ideas. Gone, for the most part, are the experiments in atonality that marked previous outings, particularly 2007’s Random Spirit Lover. In their stead are gorgeous melodies and intricate song structures that demand multiple listens to even begin to comprehend.
Delusions of Adequacy, Jun. 22
And the results are in his music’s terrific results. There’s the delayed radiance of “Paper Lace” and the album’s opening synths of “Silver Moons.” Both are assured with a confident demeanor that is prominent on every single song. Krug and his bandmates sing in bright harmonies, the music’s ability to switch out dynamics is unmatched and all around him, the atmospherics, tempo changes, and key shifts are unmistakably brilliant.
Would it be entirely wrong if I came right out and remarked Krug as
the musical genius he truly is? I don’t know about you, but besides the
other bands he is in, there are very few, if any, that sound anything
like Sunset Rubdown. And truth be told, he knows exactly what he is
doing and delivers it in a masterful way. That’s what’s so great about Dragonslayer, it’s another astounding album from a great band and one that we should get much, much more music from for many years to come.
Sunset Rubdown’s latest release, Dragonslayer, is not one to be passed over or ignored. If there was a spell that made people’s ears perk up in a strange and Spock-like fashion, these Canadians have cast it upon us. For example: I put said album on and within the first twelve minutes had no less than eight people approach to ask - who IS this?
Dragonslayer is filled with those moments of necessity that make it difficult not to stop and listen to try to get a fuller understanding of the motivational drive behind each twist and turn in the song structures.
Overall, Dragonslayer is just this: straight, delightful, gentle, forceful, and all over the rock map stylistically speaking. It is all things at once and is sure to be one of the top releases of 2009.
Holding ‘Dragonslayer’ up against its predecessors, it’s evident that Krug is building a solid back catalogue that only he can take credit for – unlike Wolf Parade, where he has to share the spotlight with co-writer and vocalist Dan Boeckner. And it remains as astonishing as ever how the very best songwriters, when left to their own devices, can flourish beyond all expectations.
Main member Spencer Krug has never sounded more proud of his musical venture and every discordant melody effused from his mouth strengthens that very assertion. Psychedelia leaks in through the seams, filling out the under-belly of the record and becoming a hidden building block that works as the primary base for the band to construct upon.
Silver Moons tumbles along melancholically with a Krug's unique vocals jutting in and out of view over the top; "I believe in growing old with grace, i believe she only loved my face, i believe i acted like a child, making faces at acquired tastes, and now silver moons belong to you". His lyrical prowess and distinctive style have only improved with time and it's great to witness a musician slowly morph into one of the more impressive performers around.
Oh and the songs. When I first listened to the album, I didn’t have great expectations. I was expecting an art-indie release = interesting, textured, and good for listening alone in your room and pretty much nowhere else. Wow was I wrong. These songs are good, great even. All but two of the eight tracks clock in over the 5-minute mark, but they are never boring or repetitive. They move, grow, build, gain speed, and other words that mean the same things.
Creating a follow-up to Random Spirit Lover and Shut Up I Am Dreaming is no easy task. You could argue that it would require the imaginative child to mature into a delirious institutionalized madman to produce eccentricities of the same flavour. Scheduled for release June 23 on Jagjaguwar, Sunset Rubdown’s Dragonslayer is nothing short of absolute lunacy employing fanatical themes and disjoint storytelling to an utmost pinnacle.
Spin Magazine -- (they're still around?), 4 stars out of 5
From the tender first chords of amazing opening track "Silver Moons" to the stunning 10-minute closer "Dragon's Lair," Spencer is at his lyrical and musical best and the band is as tight and wonderful as I've ever heard them.
Woo hoo! Sunset Rubdown Day! I'm taking the day off of work. I'm sure the "Boss Man" won't mind!
I received my LP and CD in the mail yesterday!I'm interested to see what P4K has to say about Dragonslayer. They have never given Spencer the credit he deserves outside of Wolf Parade's ATTQM...
Posted by: Kelly | June 23, 2009 at 11:47 AM
I'm surprised that they didn't review it today -- that in and of itself is a bit of a slap in the face, but then again, I don't really pay much attention to P4K's reviews anymore. Still a good "breaking news" site in indie rock, but they no longer match my taste in music so well.
I got my CD Saturday, but I've been so busy I haven't even had a chance to load it into the CD player (kind of anti-climactic anyway since I have the digital version). But was there no lyric sheet included, or did I not look hard enough? I really wanted the hard copy mostly for the lyrics.
Posted by: Bill | June 23, 2009 at 01:48 PM
Damn, I hope there is a lyric sheet included. That's what I am looking forward to.
Anyway, this is clearly THE album of 2009.
Posted by: wayne | June 23, 2009 at 05:45 PM
Unfortunately, there was not a lyric sheet with the CD or the Vinyl version. They both say to visit www.sunsetrubdown.net for lyrics and information but we all know how informative their web presence is...
Posted by: Kelly | June 23, 2009 at 06:23 PM
Yeah, I just checked the CD -- no lyric sheet...
Both Songmeanings.net and the Wolf Parade forums have all the lyrics, but they're not definitive of course and there is still some debate about them on the sites (and in my mind: Is it "fast explosion" or "vast explosion"? -- I think I'm leaning toward "fast").
so let me hammer this point home
i see us all as lonely fires that have burned alive as long as we remember
but like all sacrificial virgins, we all burn in different ways
you are a fast explosion and i'm the embers
and though your flames are quicker than me, they will not last the year,
but expire like a sudden shooting star
that only nightingales had seen before, transforming into bluebirds
and in this way you will come find me in December
Posted by: Bill | June 23, 2009 at 07:59 PM
Just saw them tonight in LA. OH MY GOD THEY ROCKED THE HOUSE.
Posted by: Adrian | June 24, 2009 at 04:25 AM
They got on the Best New Music list at P4K... woo!
http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/13232-dragonslayer/
Posted by: Bill | June 24, 2009 at 10:57 AM