Starting out as a solo project for Wolf Parade guitarist and singer Spencer Krug back in 2005, Montreal indie outfit Sunset Rubdown are now on their fourth album. Dragonslayer is packed full of the kind of oddball eccentricity that has prevented this sideproject from cracking the mainstream but, for once, Krug channels it into peculiar and affecting rock, underpinned by piano and guitar, rather than shrouds of strange clamouring and grating sounds.
In true Krug style, song durations are extensive, but they almost always grow and develop, coming into their own in the latter half, a trend that applies to the entire album. 'Paper Lace' provides a delectable, toe-tapping rolling break, 'You Go On Ahead(Trumpet Trumpet II)' opens with dampened guitars, steady rhythms, solid bass and cutesy synth before building into a twinned electric guitar and synth break, while a wild west guitar judders beneath the thumping electro undercurrent of 'Nightingale/December Song'.
Patience is a necessity. Those in search of instant gratification may look elsewhere, yet these songs outstay their welcome surprisingly rarely. Krug's lyrics have the power to ensnare you ('I believe in growing old with grace, I believe she only loved my face'), while his voice is magnificent, as deep and alien ever, and here bolstered by female backing vocals. But, there's quite a lowly tone to Dragonslayer. It hardly ever ups its tempo, which is a shame, 'cause Krug is perfectly capable of writing a first-rate pop tune.
