Dragonslayer
*Dragonslayer* is the fourth Sunset Rubdown release for the prolific Spencer Krug (his other main bands are Swan Lake and Wolf Parade) and it’s an intricate and painstakingly crafted piece of art rock. It begins with two melodic gems, “Silver Moons” and “Idiot Heart,” and then continues to pick up steam and emotional depth as it progresses to the 10-minute epic closer, “Dragon’s Lair.” It’s remarkable how well the album flows, especially considering the complexity of the song structures with their countless melodic and rhythmic twists. This continuity is owed to the quality of the songwriting and to having been largely recorded live in the studio with the whole the band, giving it an organic and spirited feel overall. Lyrically each song qualifies as a short story and Krug works to wring meaning from each phrase with his dramatic vocals. He’s created an alternate universe here, complete with its own references, metaphors, and romanticism, and it’s a treat to explore the many rich phrases and passages. *Dragonslayer* is neither a casual listen nor a deliberately difficult one — it’s a sprawling and ambitious work that offers rich rewards.
Sunset Rubdown was once the moniker under which Spencer Krug released low fidelity solo recordings. The project has long since evolved into a full band, and 'Dragonslayer' is the third full-length recorded by the whole group. Besides Krug, it features the three musicians who originally signed on: Jordan Robson-Cramer on drums, guitar and keys, Michael Doerksen on guitar and bass, and Camilla Wynne Ingr on keys, percussion and vocals. And now, for the first time, newest member Mark Nicol can be heard on bass, drums, and percussion. Sunset Rubdown's previous release on Jagjaguwar, 'Random Spirit Lover', was a studio-built album, in that much of it was written while recording (built up in separate layers, with almost all the vocals needing to be overdubbed). With the new album, the band wanted to try something completely different. It was a very conscious decision, and not a "natural progression." The result is an album that feels honest, natural, and straightforward. The musicianship is left in the open, unassisted by studio magic, and the songs are left to justify for themselves their own screwy pop-rock existence. 'Dragonslayer' was recorded in the fall of 2008. Sunset Rubdown hope that the true strength of this new album is a hidden complexity that emerges slowly from within the straight production and raw musicianship, and from what sounds at first to be an only slightly skewed approach to pop. They hope it's like that one friend of yours who looks unassuming and normal, but once you get to know him it's obvious he's basically crazy.
The brooding, cryptic world of Spencer Krug is more straightforward on the latest Sunset Rubdown LP, the easiest to digest of the prolific writer's career.
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…
Sunset Rubdown - the band that was originally a mere side project of Wolf Parade's Spencer Krug, but then took on a quite sizeable independent life of its own - here return with their fourth full length album, after the critical success of 2007's Random Spirit Lover.
Maintaining the adventurous nature that makes Sunset Rubdown Spencer Krug's most ambitious project, Dragonslayer is a tightly woven and surprisingly effortless listen.
The indie-rock psalms of Spencer Krug have long rested on a mythological mantel, but the Montreal ensemble’s third full-length, Dragonslayer, scythes through his muddied vignettes with taut instrumental throttles, conjuring up the consistency that has eluded the group's previous endeavours.
Once a mere side project for vocalist, keyboardist and songwriter Spencer Krug to vent his idiosyncratic musings to the full, it’s arguable that Sunset Rubdown have now overtake
A record with a name like Dragonslayer calls to mind fantasy prog-metal, perhaps by the venerable Ronnie James Dio. However, the homemade dragon on the album cover makes it fairly clear that this is no metal album. Instead, it’s the newest release by Wolf Parade frontman Spencer Krug’s side project, Sunset Rubdown. It certainly seems
Sunset Rubdown - Dragonslayer review: Perhaps more than any other album, Dragonslayer epitomizes Spencer Krug as an artist