Infinitely easier to wrap your head around and a hundred times less challenging to listen to, Sunset Rubdown’s newest, Dragonslayer, is still not quite up to the brilliance of their 2007 album, Random Spirit Lover.  That said, Dragonslayer is very, very good, continuing Sunset Rubdown’s habit of having wide shifts in tone and tempo in the middle of songs, along with stark contrasts and variety song-to-song throughout the course of an album.  Hit the jump for the full review, along with sample MP3s. 

The album begins with the fantastic Silver Moons and that song does some of what the band does well – sweeping lyrics, good harmonies and complimentary vocal parts over excellently done instrumentation.  Throughout this album, Spencer and Camilla’s vocals work extremely well together, as usual.  Sometimes identical but offset (Apollo and the Buffalo… and Dragon’s Lair), and other times harmonizing, and other times playing against each other, it works well throughout, with great keys and guitar driving the rest.

However, I feel that where this band truly shines is when they put a rather large shift in their songs.  They did this on several tracks on Random Spirit Lover, and the tracks that this is done in a bigger way are Apollo and the Buffalo and Anna Anna Anna Oh!, You Go On Ahead (Trumpet Trumpet II), and Dragon’s Lair.  By the time you get to the end of these tracks you are left with something that you did not start with and it keeps things interesting.  However, beyond being simply interesting, all portions of those songs are just good and could stand on their own without the shift.  Apollo and the Buffalo… is a good song for the first 2:10, but really kicks off and builds in a cool way through the end from that point.

Even the weak points on this album aren’t bad songs at all.  Dragon’s Lair drags on too long but finishes spectacularly, Idiot Heart and Black Swan aren’t that great, with Black Swan reminding me a little of their last album’s tendancy to hit the not-so-good elements a little too hard and too repetitively.   A strange departure for this band seems to be December Song.  More Tapes ‘N Tapes than Sunset Rubdown, this song is a true standout and is excellent.  Doesn’t fit in with their more whimsical elements and is extremely straightforward – also strange for the band – but what a great song.

In the end, Sunset Rubdown has put together another great album that can be instantly enjoyed without struggling through many many listens before you get it.  Therein lies the debate about whether this makes Dragonslayer better than Random Spirit Lover or is it a little worse because it’s not quite as creative and fresh?  As the band says, “Like all fireworks and all sunsets, we all burn in different ways,” but which burns better?

Daigle Rate:  82

Sunset Rubdown – Silver Moons from Dragonslayer
Sunset Rubdown – December Song from Dragonslayer