Sunset Rubdown is a Canadian
art rock
Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an art ...
music group from
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
. The band began as a solo project for
Spencer Krug
Spencer Krug ( ) (born May 4, 1977) is a Canadian musician. He is the singer, songwriter and keyboardist for the indie rock band Wolf Parade and also records under the name Moonface. He has also performed with other Canadian bands including Sun ...
of
Wolf Parade
Wolf Parade is a Canadian indie rock band formed in 2003 in Montreal. The band released three full-length albums before taking a five-year hiatus in 2011. They announced their return in 2016, releasing a self-titled EP in May of that year, and a ...
, who released his debut, ''
Snake's Got a Leg'', in early 2005. By the next year the project expanded to become a full band which included Camilla Wynne Ingr (former
Pony Up!), Jordan Robson-Cramer (
Magic Weapon), and Michael Doerksen.
Musical style
''Sunset Rubdown'' is built around lyricist Spencer Krug's vocals and eccentric musical compositions. Krug's lyrics are characterized by surreal and mythological imagery, and often tell epic stories (most notably on their LP ''
Dragonslayer
A dragonslayer is a person or being that slays dragons. Dragonslayers and the creatures they hunt have been popular in traditional stories from around the world: they are a type of story classified as type 300 in the Aarne–Thompson classifica ...
''). Musically, the band's sound is highlighted by distinct drum, keyboard, and guitar signatures.
Album releases
Krug released the solo-created ''
Sunset Rubdown'' EP in January 2006. This was followed by the first full band album ''
Shut Up I Am Dreaming'' recorded in Montreal in early 2006 and released in May to positive reviews, finishing the year with a 15th-place ranking on Pitchfork's best albums list.
''
Random Spirit Lover'', recorded in Montreal's Breakglass studios in the late winter of 2007, was released on the band's new label,
Jagjaguwar
Jagjaguwar is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Jagjaguwar is a label included in Secretly Group, which also includes ...
, in October of that year.
["The Weirdness of Sunset Rubdown"]
''Exclaim!'', By Brock Thiessen Sep 17, 2007 The recording featured an eclectic, and elaborate collection of songs, which was heralded as one of 2007's best albums by several critics and music publications. The CD made a number of top-20 albums of the year lists, earned Pitchfork's "Best New Music" distinction and finished in 14th spot in ''Pitchfork's'' year-end Readers Poll. The album also made NPR's list of top albums of 2007, and was nominated for the U.S. Indie Music industry's ''Plug'' Award in the Best Indie Album of the Year category.
In 2007, Mark Nicol was added as the band's fifth member. Sunset Rubdown completed their first tour of UK and Europe in June 2008.
The band recorded their fourth album in Chicago after a fall 2008 tour of the U.S.. Following a spring 2009 tour of several European countries, ''
Dragonslayer
A dragonslayer is a person or being that slays dragons. Dragonslayers and the creatures they hunt have been popular in traditional stories from around the world: they are a type of story classified as type 300 in the Aarne–Thompson classifica ...
'' was released on June 23, 2009 to critical acclaim. The album's 'live off the studio floor' dynamics has garnered widespread acclaim. The band once again earned
''Pitchfork''''
's'' "Best New Music" ranking, and received a perfect '10' from England's ''
Drowned in Sound
''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums.
History
''D ...
'' web magazine, with ''Dragonslayer'' staying in the top-10 on Canadian and U.S. college and indie music charts (''Earshot, Chart Attack'') for 10 straight weeks through July and August 2009.
''Dragonslayer'' finished on many online music magazine and music blogs top albums year-end lists (''Drowned in Sound, Associated Press, Earshot''), including several Top 10 lists (''Chart Attack'', ''Cokemachineglow''). The album was voted as the 16th best album of the year in ''Pitchfork's'' year-end readers poll and also finished as one of the top-40 highest ranked/reviewed albums of the year based on ''Metacritic's'' tracking system.
The band completed a 46-city tour of Europe, U.S and Japan from September to November 2009, after which they disbanded.
In December 2022 the band announced a reunion tour slated for the spring of 2023.
Discography
* ''
Snake's Got a Leg'' LP (2005) Global Symphonic
* ''
Sunset Rubdown'' EP (2006) Global Symphonic
* ''
Shut Up I Am Dreaming'' LP (2006)
Absolutely Kosher
* ''
Random Spirit Lover'' LP (2007)
Jagjaguwar
Jagjaguwar is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Jagjaguwar is a label included in Secretly Group, which also includes ...
* ''
Sunset Rubdown Introducing Moonface'' EP (2009) Aagoo Records
* ''
Dragonslayer
A dragonslayer is a person or being that slays dragons. Dragonslayers and the creatures they hunt have been popular in traditional stories from around the world: they are a type of story classified as type 300 in the Aarne–Thompson classifica ...
'' LP (2009)
Jagjaguwar
Jagjaguwar is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Jagjaguwar is a label included in Secretly Group, which also includes ...
Personnel
While all members of ''Sunset Rubdown'' resided in Montreal, Quebec, all are transplants from other parts of Canada. Spencer Krug, Michael Doerksen and Jordan Robson-Cramer are originally from British Columbia, with Camilla Wynne Ingr originally from Alberta and Mark Nicol from Ontario.
*
Spencer Krug
Spencer Krug ( ) (born May 4, 1977) is a Canadian musician. He is the singer, songwriter and keyboardist for the indie rock band Wolf Parade and also records under the name Moonface. He has also performed with other Canadian bands including Sun ...
- vocals, keys, guitar, kick drum
* Camilla Wynne Ingr - vocals, percussion, keyboards, "Jane-of-all-trades"
* Michael Doerksen - guitar, bass, synthesizers, drums, vocals
* Jordan Robson-Cramer - drums, guitar, keyboards
* Mark Nicol - bass,
kalimba
Mbira ( ) are a family of musical instruments, traditional to the Shona people of Zimbabwe. They consist of a wooden board (often fitted with a resonator) with attached staggered metal tines, played by holding the instrument in the hands and p ...
, drums
References
External links
;Media
*
Sunset Rubdown Daytrotter SessionFree MP3 Download
Daytrotter Encore Session (Free Songs)Interview with Sunset Rubdown on czech Radio Wave (30 mins english audio with czech translation)Sunset Rubdown on NPR MusicSunset Rubdown: Interview, Part One Spencer Krug interviewed by Drowned in Sound, September 2009
Sunset Rubdown: Exclusive Interview, Part Two Spencer and the band interviewed by Drowned in Sound, September 2009
;Other
Artist pageat
Jagjaguwar Records
Jagjaguwar is an American independent record label based in Bloomington, Indiana, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Jagjaguwar is a label included in Secretly Group, which also includes ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sunset Rubdown
Musical groups established in 2005
Musical groups from Montreal
Canadian indie rock groups
English-language musical groups from Quebec
Jagjaguwar artists
Musical groups disestablished in 2009
2005 establishments in Quebec
2009 disestablishments in Quebec