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Josef K · 09-09-2014, 06:54 PM

Pissed Jeans: King of Jeans (2009): This is a pretty fantastic album. I didn't love their first one - as much as I liked the gimmick of lyrics about ice cream and scrapbooking over almost comically aggressive music, it was sort of too messy for me and was a little uneven in places. King of Jeans doesn't have that problem. The lyrics are still about everyday concerns, but frontman Matt Korvette switches from absurdity to average-middle-aged-guy problems, and does it pretty well. But it's a hardcore punk album - it's easy to ignore exactly what Korvette is saying. So rest assured that musically, this also kills. I think the best reference point is Black Flag circa My War, especially on the sludgier tracks ("Spent", the first half of "Request for Masseuse"), but the band are able to call up the memories of other great bands: Black Sabbath, the Jesus Lizard, the Birthday Party (especially on "Half Idiot"), and the Germs. But overall, you don't have to buy all these influences - what matters is that it's a vital, fantastic heavy punk album. If you haven't before, do check it out. 4/5

Sunset Rubdown: Dragonslayer (2009): Yep, more Sunset Rubdown. This album was their third great one in a row, sporting a more streamlined sound, with only eight songs. It takes the chamber pop leanings of Random Spirit Lover and scales them back, making an album that's just as instrumentally extravagant but that sounds more controlled. I came into the Sunset Rubdown discography looking for Wolf Parade, basically, and Spencer Krug hasn't written another "Grounds for Divorce" or "I'll Believe in Anything", but that's fine. If anything, it's more useful to see Wolf Parade as his straightforward-indie-rock side project. Both these bands speak to Krug's versatility and his greatness at songwriting - and on this album, the songs take front-and-center more than any overarching narrative. We've got the smooth "Silver Moons" to start us out, and then the less smooth "Idiot Heart" and "Apollo and the Buffalo and Anna Anna Anna Oh!", which trips over itself in the way Krug's best songs do, to tide us over until one of the highlights, "Black Swan". Feedback-filled, unhinged, and almost klezmer-like in parts (Jew pride!), it's definitely one of the best songs he's ever written. Honestly though, even naming "highlights" seems redundant. They're all highlights. This is a lean, composed masterpiece, and much as I love the two before it, Dragonslayer is the culmination of Krug's career. 9.5/10 (11/30 edit: I would give this a much lower score now - 3.5/5 or so. I like it but I think Random Spirit Lover is his best.)

09-09-2014, 06:54 PM	#10 (permalink)
Josef K A Jew on a motorbike! Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 800	*Pissed Jeans: King of Jeans* (2009):** This is a pretty fantastic album. I didn't love their first one - as much as I liked the gimmick of lyrics about ice cream and scrapbooking over almost comically aggressive music, it was sort of too messy for me and was a little uneven in places. King of Jeans doesn't have that problem. The lyrics are still about everyday concerns, but frontman Matt Korvette switches from absurdity to average-middle-aged-guy problems, and does it pretty well. But it's a hardcore punk album - it's easy to ignore exactly what Korvette is saying. So rest assured that musically, this also kills. I think the best reference point is Black Flag circa My War, especially on the sludgier tracks ("Spent", the first half of "Request for Masseuse"), but the band are able to call up the memories of other great bands: Black Sabbath, the Jesus Lizard, the Birthday Party (especially on "Half Idiot"), and the Germs. But overall, you don't have to buy all these influences - what matters is that it's a vital, fantastic heavy punk album. If you haven't before, do check it out. 4/5 Sunset Rubdown: Dragonslayer (2009): Yep, more Sunset Rubdown. This album was their third great one in a row, sporting a more streamlined sound, with only eight songs. It takes the chamber pop leanings of Random Spirit Lover and scales them back, making an album that's just as instrumentally extravagant but that sounds more controlled. I came into the Sunset Rubdown discography looking for Wolf Parade, basically, and Spencer Krug hasn't written another "Grounds for Divorce" or "I'll Believe in Anything", but that's fine. If anything, it's more useful to see Wolf Parade as his straightforward-indie-rock side project. Both these bands speak to Krug's versatility and his greatness at songwriting - and on this album, the songs take front-and-center more than any overarching narrative. We've got the smooth "Silver Moons" to start us out, and then the less smooth "Idiot Heart" and "Apollo and the Buffalo and Anna Anna Anna Oh!", which trips over itself in the way Krug's best songs do, to tide us over until one of the highlights, "Black Swan". Feedback-filled, unhinged, and almost klezmer-like in parts (Jew pride!), it's definitely one of the best songs he's ever written. Honestly though, even naming "highlights" seems redundant. They're all highlights. This is a lean, composed masterpiece, and much as I love the two before it, Dragonslayer is the culmination of Krug's career. 9.5/10 (11/30 edit: I would give this a much lower score now - 3.5/5 or so. I like it but I think Random Spirit Lover is his best.) Last edited by Josef K; 11-29-2014 at 10:39 PM.