Don't Hate Sunset Rubdown's Whimsy
Published 37 months ago
The Montreal four-piece just can't seem to focus.
- Text by Kin Woo
Genius is often associated with a touch of the offbeat. Take 'The Courtesan Has Sung', the centerpiece of Sunset Rubdown’s lustrous and dreamy new album, Random Spirit Lover. Amid a swell of echoes, comes the unmistakable and unexpected theme tune of Edward Scissorhands building
the song to its moving climax. Its frontman, Spencer Krug merely shrugs
on explaining this incongruous love for Danny Elfman – 'Well, we had
already sampled A Nightmare Before Christmas for the last record, and I would hate to be accused of being inconsistent.'
Despite
being involved in no less than four other bands (Frog Eyes, Swan Lake,
Destroyer and of course, Wolf Parade) Krug puts paid to the idea of him
as having Attention Deficit Disorder – 'Really very rarely do I find
myself consciously choosing where I should put a new song. It's much
more natural and spread out than it may appear.' However Sunset Rubdown
has always been his outlet for his musical experiments. 'It's where I
indulge myself in whimsical musical tendencies that could easily fall
flat - ideas and aesthetics that I love while knowing full well that
they will be hated by many, many others.'
This is evidenced by the looser song structures on Random Spirit Lover that
spiral thrillingly out of control into exciting musical tangents, often
bleeding into each other. Rinky dink piano and glockenspiel enhance the
sinister fairytale feel of the music while Krug’s knack for a twisted
lyric or metaphor rules supreme. Take the luminous, twinkling 'For the
Pier (and Dead Shimmering)' which quickly escalates into a frenzied
freakout. Says Krug, 'It's a little more cerebral but at the same time
much more of a stream of consciousness thing than Wolf Parade.'
Currently
in the midst of recording the much anticipated new Wolf Parade album,
next year could see Krug taking his beautifully esoteric other band to
UK shores. But in the meantime, we have this wild and wonderful album
to luxuriate in. It’s as if Krug has taken his musical compass, crushed
it underfoot and gone wandering in new lands. Get lost with him.
