I’ve made it my goal to link more of my Spectrum Culture reviews to my blog (so it doesn’t seem like I’m not writing at all), so here’s one for Moonface (Spencer Krug of Wolf Parade and Sunset Rubdown), Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I’d Hoped
Spencer Krug is a busy man. So busy, in fact, that one wonders if the group he’s most associated with, Wolf Parade, would not have been put on indefinite hiatus if Krug hadn’t inserted himself into a side project (Swan Lake, with Carey Mercer of Frog Eyes and Destroyer’s Dan Bejar) while at the same time pursuing his solo effort, Sunset Rubdown. How does Moonface fit into this cramped schedule? Well, Moonface is Krug’s second solo outfit, Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I’d Hoped being his first full-length record under the moniker, following last year’s Dreamland EP: Marimba and Shit Drums.
Where Moonface and Sunset Rubdown diverge, primarily, is in instrumentation; whereas Sunset Rubdown’s is a full-figured, full-band sound, with Krug’s unhinged guitar and literate lyrics punctuating layers of keys, Moonface is more stripped down. Bereft of any organic qualities, save for the fecund imagination of Krug, Organ Music is all programmed cymbal, pulsing organ, multi-layered tones and busy, frenzied hooks providing the thrust for its five, six- to eight-minute tracks. The overlap is in Krug’s lyrics, which remain some of the best in indie music, rounding about themselves in tripped-up phrasing, clever turns, asides, hiccups and chants.
And for the rest: Moonface: Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I’d hoped
