Stereogum Home

 

May 28, 2008

Sunset Rubdown Sound Good In A Black Cab

thumbnail icon: Sunset Rubdown Sound Good In A Black Cab

It may seem silly to call anything Spencer Krug's done in the past few years "underrated." But for all the blogspace devoted to his manic anthems, I still think Random Spirit Lover hasn't received its just props. I get why that is; Krug's knotty compositions, constantly shifting while constantly circling back on themselves, increasingly require careful, sometimes studious listening. Maybe that's what made Sunset Rubdown's relatively tempered first album -- and Spencer's relatively Boecknered contributions to At Mount Zoomer -- more widely praised affairs. Whatever, we love him. Anyway, however you parse the praise, after watching this session recorded last week in North West London, we're pretty sure we can all at least agree: if you flagged a taxi and stumbled into this scene -- 3/5 of Sunset Rubdown performing new-ish tune "You Go On Ahead" on guitar, casio keys, and a coffee mug/bucket drumkit -- you wouldn't kick Spencer out of the cab.

Watch it at blackcabsessions.com.

Posted at 12:03 PM by amrit in
Tags:




11 Comments

there was a day in the graveyard.

Posted by: k profile link at 05/28/08 12:22 PM  | Reply
Score = -1 Vote up Vote down

Spencer is an incredibly hot man.

Posted by: Z at 05/28/08 12:28 PM  | Reply
Score = 2 Vote up Vote down

This pisses me off. Is he hoarding his great songs for Sunset Rubdown, or what? This would've been perfect on At Mount Zoomer, methinks. Really, take out Bang Your Drum and add this. or hell, just ADD this to it.

Blah.

Posted by: Evan at 05/28/08 1:48 PM  | Reply
Score = 2 Vote up Vote down

Sunset Rubdown > Wolf Parade.
Spencer Krug's talent ≡ ∞³.

Posted by: k profile link  in reply to Evan's comment at 05/28/08 4:22 PM  | Reply
Score = 2 Vote up Vote down

i'm going to ask spencer krug to marry me

Posted by: jules profile link at 05/28/08 3:15 PM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

he's a genius... this song is fantastic!
and I don't think it really matters whether the tracks are on a WP's album or SR's, as long as they are this great...

Posted by: Mattea at 05/28/08 4:22 PM  | Reply
Score = 1 Vote up Vote down

here's the mp3 of the performance:
http://www.mediafire.com/?m4nnyyvwmhz

Posted by: greekgoat91 profile link at 05/28/08 10:31 PM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Thanks, I've always though SR was underrated.

Thank you for the mp3 greekgoat!

Posted by: Sam at 05/29/08 2:03 AM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

yeah, sunset rubdown are in a league of their own compared with wolf parade...

Posted by: simonsays at 05/29/08 3:40 AM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Spencer has been the best active songwriter in the world since Apologies. He's one of the few songwriters that overwhelms me with his talent. RSL was my favorite album of last year, and as noted, even though it got a lot of "attention", I don't think it received anywhere near the "respect" that I feel it deserved. Spencer writes songs that get you in the gut, the heart and the head. He has the potential to be legendary...

Posted by: Sean at 05/29/08 2:22 PM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Definitely agree with the pro Krug comments. Put the two Wolf Parade LPs against the two Sunset Rubdown LPs; SR wins hands down. I like the Dan songs for WP but sometime his lyrics kill an otherwise pretty good tune.

Posted by: DirtyPistol at 05/29/08 10:13 PM  | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Leave a comment


Staff

  • Founder/Editor-In-Chief: Scott Lapatine
  • Executive Editor: Amrit Singh
  • Senior Writer: Brandon Stosuy

Info

Contact

Get Flash to see our mp3 player. Here are our mp3s: Jonathan Boulet - A Community Service Announcement (The Album Leaf Remix) (»)
El Guincho - Antillas (XXXchange remix) (»)
El Guincho - Antillas (»)
Wolf People - October Fires (»)
Fan Death - Cannibal (»)
Fan Death - Reunited (CCENTURIESS Remix) (»)
Chll Pll - Dick Moves (»)
Chll Pll - Pass Out (»)
Beck - Harry Partch (»)
Tim Cohen - Haunted Hymns (»)
Tim Cohen - Take Aim Goliath (»)
Ducktails - Sandglider (»)
tUnE-YaRdS - Hatari (Drunkenmonkey Remix) (»)
tUnE-YaRdS - Hatari (Karn Remix) (»)
Beach House - Norway (»)
The Golden Filter - Thunderbird (»)
Crystal Antlers - It's All Over Now, Baby Blue (Bob Dylan Cover) (»)
CFCF - How Bizarre (OMC Cover) (»)
The Acorn - Strange Animal (Gowan Cover) (»)
Black Tambourine - Black Car (»)
Boyracer - Sunshine And Violence (»)
Henry's Dress - 1620 (»)
Honeybunch - Mine Your Own Business (»)
Lilys - Claire Hates Me (»)
Lilys - February Fourteenth (»)
Lorelei - Today's Shrug (»)
Sleepyhead - Different Colored Letters (»)
Small Factory - Merry-Go-Round (»)
Swirlies - Sarah Sitting (»)
The Ropers - Waiting (»)
Velocity Girl - My Forgotten Favorite (»)
Monsters Of Folk - Say Please (»)
Rain Machine - Give Blood (»)
Wetdog - Tidy Up Your Bedroom (»)
Beck - Little Hands (Feat. Feist, Wilco And Jamie Lidell) (»)
Brendan Benson - Feel Like Taking You Home (»)
Yeasayer - Ambling Alp (Memory Tapes Remix) (»)
Solange - Stillness Is The Move (Dirty Projectors Cover) (»)
Pearl Harbor - California Shakedown (»)
LoneLady - Immaterial (»)
Andrew Cedermark - Hard Livin' (»)
Family Portrait - Super Cool (»)
The Soft Pack - Answer To Yourself (»)
Bear In Heaven - Dust Cloud (»)
Bear In Heaven - Lovesick Teenagers (»)
Atlas Sound - Doctor (Five Discs Cover) (»)
Atlas Sound - The Screens (»)
Cloud Nothings - Hey Cool Kid (»)
The Mary Onettes - Dare (»)
The Mary Onettes - Puzzles (»)
Digital Leather - Photo Lie (»)
Memory Tapes - Easy Pert Mom (»)
Memory Tapes - Graphics (Sci-Fi Edit) (»)

Progress Report logo
Commercial Appeal logo
Premature Evaluation logo
Band to Watch logo
Quit Your Day Job logo
The Outsiders logo
The 'Gum Drop logo