Dragonslayer [CD]

I bought this album initailly after a Sunset rubdown gig. I was blown away by the sound the band made.

Being able to listen several times to songs and hear the lyrics clearly; having time to process the content and the sound together has been a revelation.

The feelings that are elicited from this record are the feel of the Pixies in their Dolittle pomp, Arcade Fire, prog and a whole bunch of other things.

I bought a second copy for my wife as she would listen over and over to it in her car coming home from work. A fabulous sound and engaging lyrics. A best album of the year for me.

Sunset Rubdown keeps on getting better and better. SR has always been a personal favourite but with the new album the band might just get noticed by a new group of people. At least, that's what I hope. Dragonslayer is a bit easier to listen to than previous albums. It all sounds more poppy and harmonic, in a way. But SR still managed not to give up their style of crafting intriguing songs of weird beauty. And all songs are more than great on this one.

Sunset Rubdown have now officially won the battle for my affections over Wolf Parade. I'll be the first to admit that this album is nowhere near the equal of the sublime `Random Spirit Lover' but it is still leagues ahead of last year's tragically underwhelming `At Mount Zoomer'. One of the most disappointing sophomore albums of recent memory it jettisoned everything that made the debut a success and was happy to amble along the middle of the road. It left me wondering whether Spencer Krug had already become a busted flush. Ok, I wasn't losing sleep over the matter but I did find myself lowering my expectations for `Dragonslayer'. I am pleased to report that this tidy release has gone a long way to restoring my faith in a songwriter I have incredibly high hopes for.

First impressions weren't great and for the initial listens I was worried that after last year's pared down and bland `Zoomer' this album was following the same uninspired blueprint. If `Spirit Lover' was Technicolor genius this seemed to be missing a few colours from the palette. The truth is that this album doesn't take on its predecessor at the same game - layers of sound have been peeled away but what remains is still just as worthy. That unique squalling then aching guitar is still there as are the trademark vocals that start off sounding like sore thumbs but eventually fit like a glove.

The songs are uniformly excellent with only `Paper Lace' letting the side down a little. It sounds like an average Deerhoof tune and is a bit throwaway, but forgivable - especially considering it is sandwiched between the quintessential Sunset Rubdown tour de force that is `Black Swan' and the rollicking `You Go On Ahead'. The first four songs (ending with `Black Swan') make another classic suite of tracks similar to the first five songs on `Random Spirit Lover' and contain treats aplenty. The ten minute epic closer `Dragon's Lair' is also well worth getting your teeth stuck into and contains a show-stopping emotional crescendo somewhere around the eight minute mark.

Fans of `Random Spirit Lover' should persevere with this.