Random Spirit Lover

The woven lyrics and singular songwriting style heard in Sunset Rubdown invoke a mythological world, where magical narratives and tiny metaphors give shape to ordinary objects in the room; sometimes beautiful, sometimes beastly. The moniker was first born to bear the solo bedroom recordings of Spencer Krug, but has since evolved into a full-fledged band, involving the vital contributions of fellow Montreal residents Jordan Robson Cramer, Michael Doerksen, and Camilla Wynne Ingr. Now enter Sunset Rubdown's third full-length record, "Random Spirit Lover", featuring twelve songs that bleed in and out of each other, mixing portents with theatrics, confusions with conversions. The dark glamour of the music beneath the half-baked revelations in rhyme creates a tone of high drama, blown-out and overt, but the stage is wild and the roles aren't clear, so the sincerity of the work and the spontaneity of the recordings can't help but shine through the formality of structure. In short, listening to "Random Spirit Lover" is like watching schoolchildren in a dress rehearsal for the annual Easter play. And though they aren't old enough to know the occasion is anything more than pastel-painted eggs and edible bunnies, they wear the fake beards with confidence and style. "Random Spirit Lover" was recorded in early 2007 at Breakglass Studios in Montreal with Jace Lasek (also of The Besnard Lakes) and Dave Smith. A prolific and talented musician, Krug is also a member of Frog Eyes and Wolf Parade, and, in the fall of 2006, he collaborated with Dan Bejar of Destroyer and Carey Mercer of Frog Eyes to form Swan Lake, recording their first album for Jagjaguwar called "Beast Moans". Jordan Robson-Cramer is currently the brain behind Magic Weapon as well as a member of Miracle Fortress, and Michael Doerksen produces his own solo work under the name of Deep Sleepover. "Beyond writing catchy tunes and packing them with whispers, mallets, harpsichord, and patches of cheapskate drum machines, [Spencer Krug's] an intriguing presence. Instead of bubbling along at one level, he roller coasters and raves, mixing nonsense with sharp observations and sadness with puns." -- Pitchfork

Between Wolf Parade, Swan Lake, and Frog Eyes, Sunset Rubdown's Spencer Krug may be the most prolific indie rocker this side of Robert Pollard, but you'd never know from this album: Random Spirit Lover may be one of the most toiled-over releases of the year, featuring melodies so architecturally complex and harmoniously joined that the boundaries between them become erased.

Naming your kid Spencer is a great way to make sure he grows up to be a wimpy indie-rocker. Luckily, Sunset Rubdown's Spencer Krug has been able to parlay his preciousness into charming, dizzying pop that's as sinewy as it is cerebral. The symphonic glam streak Krug brings to his main band, Wolf Parade, is left to…

Spencer Krug has to be the hardest working man in the Canadian music scene. And that’s saying something. Not only content in being part of the fantastic Wolf Parade, he’s been a hired gun for Swan Lake, Frog Eyes and Fifths of Seven. Sunset Rubdown was…

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.

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