Sunset Rubdown...

I must say that Absolutely Kosher has been doing a great job as of late. Last year's 2 disc set from Okay comes to mind as well as Hearts the new Court & Spark record. Add to the list Shut Up I Am Dreaming from Sunset Rubdown. Sunset Rubdown is a solo or side project from Wolf Parade singer/songwriter Spencer Krug. Honestly I didn't really latch on to Wolf Parade's Apologies To The Queen Mary. I fully realize that it was hailed as an indie masterpiece that challenged Funeral for the title of best thing to come from Canada since ice hockey (San Jose Sharks how you broke my heart). Shut Up I Am Dreaming has been engaging me in a way that Wolf Parade just didn't. Krug's vocal delivery is essentially identical to what he does for Wolf Parade: he flails and tears at this vocal chords, barely holds notes, warbles, begs, the whole nine yards. So what's different? I find Sunset Rubdown to be a more personal record. By "personal" I'm not just talking lyrically, though Krug is disarmingly straightforward and honest, I'm also talking about the mood of the record. That mood is both intimately welcoming and cinematic. The songs often teeter on the edge of epic but never quite reach that level, but that's okay because it's the tantalizing tease of being on the edge of something grand that's part of what makes this record so fun. The ten songs on Shut Up I Am Dreaming often stretch beyond five minutes with starts and stops, false crescendoes, build ups with no payoffs that turn to mist coagulate again and reform. I've heard this record refered to as "difficult" but I find it very accessible. Into the best of 2006 it goes.

1 song from Shut Up I Am Dreaming:

Stadiums And Shrines II