Reinstate the obvious, disassociate the banal

I have been listening to Sunset Rubdown as of late and I can honestly tell you I am entranced by this newish cd of theirs. Shut up I am dreaming it is called and, hell yes, I like it better than the mothership from which this pod was jettisoned---Wolf Parade. I think the reason is, it delves a bit deeper into the realm of indie-rock esoteria. I'm a big fan of this crazy (at times ambient) almost-prog---due to the extreme length of some tracks---magic that Spencer Krug is laying down here. The symphonic soundscapes he whips up on this disc are topped off with amazing guitar work. If the guitar freak out on the title track doesn't affect you at a gut level then your guts are full of shit. Not since 1995 have I heard such great slop-tastic licks as these (see: Pavement, Sebadoh and Built to Spill). That old school shit I speak of saved my sanity as I made my way through the throngs of Salarymen in Seoul, South Korea--- walkman at extreme sound pressure levels.*

There are some true surprises on this disc. The first time I heard the ending on We took a vote and said no I felt like I was hearing Radiohead's The Bends for the first time (also a Korea discovery). You don't see a lot of the sounds coming at you on this album...that's how it should always be...but rarely is.

So, it's albums like this that give my life purpose and show that the perceived futility is worth it. In a world that can create such beauty as this album, well it can't be too bad. Be patient, it'll get better this album urges me. I can say that Spencer Krug is one of the few who has taken the baton from Destroyer and made something complementary and wholly originally from the experience. It makes me wonder what people see in all the hugely popular factory refurbished indie outfits as of late (No need to name them, they are abundantly aware of their sins).

definitely up there with Band of Horses and Cat Power in the best of 2006.

*Yes, you are going to get a bit of a history lesson ala Rube circa 1995. I taught English in that hotbed of world cinema: South Korea. Music and film were my saving grace. I would sit in my yahgwan and dream of the west. My friends and I didn't realize how much we were into North America until if was ripped from our greedy claws. We were only there for the money and the price we had to pay was loneliness. Yes, there is a screenplay in it and I will make the movie someday---starring Lou Pucci.