Dragonslayer
There’s no hiding the fact I’m in love with
this album. Krug amps up his inner Bowie and takes the orchestral,
triumphant glory of emotional showy music to a crescendo on
every song. His voice, always on the edge of breaking into sobs
it seems, lilts and teeters on the edge of shattering over and
under squealing guitars, accordion, chimes and whatever else
he can get his hands on. There is also some sweet female accompaniment
on some of the songs, which cuts down a bit on the pirate feel
that seems to follow all of his music around. This is certainly
the most accessible of the Sunset Rubdown albums, but still
may confuse some people with its rolling song structures and
what I think are really cool arrangements. This ain’t 4/4 pop
music, though it has something that should appeal to all who
like to face the rain and throw their hands up in exaltation!
Ok, kidding there, but this is some truly inspired stuff, cementing
Krug as a serious contender for the king of shit that rocks.
|
Random Spirit Lover
Mixing in even more elements than their first
album, Sunset Rubdown continues to be an experiment in progress,
always morphing and coming up with intricate sounds and progressions.
For some reason, the stuff always makes me think about fairies.
Not sure why, but there is magic in the music (without turning
directly to Blues Traveler-like
maypole dancing music). There is something vaguely tree sprite
and pirate about the music. How those two things meld is beyond
me, but it works. I actually use "Up On Your Leopard, Upon the
End of Your Feral Days" to drive Ms. Hipster absolutely insane.
She can't take the pirate yo-ho-hos, chimes and accordion (?)
that brings the pace and bombast of the song to the edge of
hysteria, only to collapse and build and collapse and build
again. It's like Men Without Hats on crack, but I fuckin' love
it. "So way to go!" This one builds on their debut, adding in
some female vocals, lots of weird Brit references (courtesan?)
and lots of songs that change and morph before your very eyes.
They feel less like songs than happenings or events, like one
is seeing a play all in the span of an album. Sure the experimentation
gets away from him every once in a while, but you can't make
a cake without cracking some eggs, right? |
Shut Up I am Dreaming
Mixing the theatrics of Destroyer
and the indie rock bombast of Arcade
Fire, this Wolf Parade "side-project"
I think surpasses the original in certain instances. There are
even shades of Neutral Milk
Hotel in its odd brilliance. Granted, I love my music dramatic,
and this thing has it in spades. There are sea shanties and
whatnot, as all indie bands have to have these days, as well
as some songs that actually have those Springsteen-like chimes.
This, my friends, is what rock and roll is all about; taking
chances and experimenting with time signatures, noises, drum
machines, keyboards, soaring vocals, everything. This is one
of my more favorite albums of the past few years. |
Sunset Rubdown EP
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Musical Connections:
Frog Eyes
Swan Lake
Wolf Parade
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