Sunset Rubdown - "Dragonslayer"

Throughout Dragonslayer, there is a pervasive, nervous sense of urgency. I cannot thematically explain this album in any other way, because this feeling is suffused in every nook and cranny; it dominates in the way that nightfall dominates late winter afternoons. Melancholic runs of keys that combine with flutters of drums and marching guitar keep you happy, but at the same time tense. It's a fairly unique listening experience, because naturally, those two emotions like to keep themselves far, far apart. But here, the crux of that interplay defines the attraction, for the songs of Dragonslayer glide along pleasantly, but quiver before they are able to reach any kind of auditory absolution. It makes you want more before you even realize how good the stuff you initially heard is. This phenomenon derives itself solely from Spencer Krug's voice. If you can forget the music just for a minute--not literally, but just for the sake of isolating analysis--then you'll begin to see what effect his voice has as an additional instrument.

Krug's vocals are basically a spirited, caffienated lurching that guide you through each narrative. At times, his voice is so intertwined with the music, it can sound decievingly not there. In "Apollo and the Buffalo and Anna Anna Anna Oh!," there's a swath refrain, probably the most beautiful refrain on the entire album, where lyric and instrumentation are inseperable. Removing the vocals, however, would destroy it completely, a sure sign of how a seemingly nervous man can carry the weight of an entire song (and album) from his mouth. You see this in other areas as well ("Paper Lace"), little moments here and there that are defined, and completely supported by this nervous articulation and vocalization. It's superb, really. Come year-end, watch out, Merriweather Post Pavilion...