Sunset Rubdown

Sunset Rubdown
Dragonslayer
(Jagjaguwar, 2009)

Dragonslayer is a poor man’s spring break. Sunset Rubdown’s third full-band album eases the listener onto a plane headed one-way into the sun. Dragonslayer is a departure for the quintet that began as solo project for Spencer Krug, co-frontman of Wolf Parade. With a crew of Krug, Pony Up!’s Camilla Wynne Ingr, Jordan Robson-Cramer, Michael Doerksen, and newest member Mark Nicol, Sunset Rubdown tightens security on their newest album, making it damn hard for mediocre bands to hop on board the indie scene.

Krug and members must have taken the criticism on their previous albums into account when they brainstormed for the eight-song Dragonslayer. Krug’s over-dramatized, monochromatic voice has evolved into a 757 with the capacity to carry a myriad of notes. His vocals now span over a handful of octaves, unlike on Snake’s Got a Leg, Shut Up I Am Dreaming, and Random Spirit Lover, and even better, they welcome tourists into their experimental realm. The whole album presents circularity—with the most downtempo tracks, “Silver Moons” and “Dragon’s Lair”, placed at the beginning and end—that can only be reminiscent of takeoffs and landings.

With creeping piano notes, wailing melodies, and self-aware percussion, “Silver Moon” is a takeoff-ready soundtrack. Balancing tranquility with turbulence, the track fuses scratching chords with dainty bells, following Krug’s vocal lead. “Silver Moons” promises easier times—Krug sings, “Maybe these days are over now” in a duet with Ingr towards the end of the song, and Ingr’s vocals help ease the journey. Ingr’s raw talent truly surfaces on this album, and her increased presence is welcomed—Krug’s voice has the capacity to simplify layered instrumentals, as it did on Snake’s Got a Leg and Random Spirit Lover. But Dragonslayer, while it may be at times repetitive or commercial, is far from simple.

Landing on a remote island, complete with forbidden forests, tribal gatherings, buffalo, and manifestations of Greek mythology, Dragonslayer’s upbeat melodies (with the exceptions of the first and last track) add yet another layer to Sunset Rubdown’s complex orchestrations. “Paper Lace” is a hard wave to catch with its introductory drum stick-slapping four-count—the electric instrumentals oscillate between free-flowing crests and distorted crashes. And this oscillation may be taken as Sunset Rubdown’s apprehension toward settling into mainstream music. Dragonslayer retains the integrity Sunset Rubdown stitched throughout their previous albums, but Dragonslayer’s appeal explodes out of the niche they had carved for themselves already.

Whether Sunset Rubdown is apprehensive or not, tension remains throughout the entire album. In “Idiot Heart”—which I forecast will be Dragonslayer’s breakout hit—the melody evolves from steady, muted guitar chords to forests of pitches with electric peaks and xylophone drizzles. Krug sings, “Now I was never much of a dancer, but I know enough to know you gotta move your idiot body around,” but the song’s pacing seesaws between what sounds like a basement line-up to a full-blown marching band. Krug’s irony is not lost; whether the chords are winding or rhythmic, one cannot help but dip a shoulder and kick out a leg. The song climaxes when Krug yodels midway through the track, and this yodeling is the missing X-factor in Sunset Rubdown’s previous three albums.

Dragonslayer is by far the most accessible record in Sunset Rubdown’s discography. With Krug’s yodeling and Ingr’s collaborative vocals, with chip tunes, deep bass drums, and lyrics like “I’d like to have you navigate two hills where no musicians live” in “You Go on Ahead (Trumpet Trumpet II)”, Dragonslayer facilitates an all-encompassing experience for the listener. And it could not be a more comfortable experience. Dragonslayer is an express to a lush, whimsical terrain, and lasting only 50 minutes, you’ll be begging for your next vacation.

Listen: Various Tracks [at myspace.com]

Tags: Sunset Rubdown, Dragonslayer, Jagjaguwar, Spencer Krug, Wolf Parade