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
Tracklist:
1. The Mending of the Gown
2. Magic Vs. Midas
3. Up on Your Leopard, Upon the End of Your Feral Days
4. The Courtesan Has Sung
5. Winged/Wicked Things
6. Colt Stands Up, Grows Horns
7. Stallion
8. For the Pier (And Dead Shimmering)
9. The Taming of the Hands That Came Back to Life
10. Setting Vs. Rising
11. Trumpet, Trumpet, Toot! Toot!
12. Child-Heart Losers