Aging hipsters can celebrate the return of Sunset Rubdown, Spencer Krug‘s other band. No, not that group—you know, the other one. All kidding aside, Krug has surfaced in multiple projects over the past 20-plus years, whether it be Frog Eyes, Wolf Parade, Swan Lake, and more recently as, Moonface or just plain old Spencer Krug.
The Canadian musician is prolific but also has a distinctive (some would say peculiar) sound. Very few vocalists could produce anything close to the passion he delivers on Wolf Parade’s definitive statement, “I’ll Believe in Anything”. That vocal delivery still has the power to jar squares out of their seats at your nearest Moby Dick-inspired coffee roaster.
After much critical acclaim following their first three albums, Sunset Rubdown effectively broke up in 2009. There was never a plan for them to get back together, at least until Krug had a dream that the band had reunited. The members were equally keen to make that vision a reality. Their one condition was to have fun together, and that was the case during their mini-reunion tour in 2023. It turned out that making an album was a little more complicated.
Always Happy to Explode, released on Krug’s own label (Pronounced Kroog), features original group members Krug (piano, synth, acoustic guitar, vocals), Camilla Wynne (keyboard, omnichord, vocals), and Jordan Robson-Cramer (drums). Notably, Michael Doerksen couldn’t make the commitment, and Sunset Rubdown decided not to replace him, leaving a void where the electric guitar would be. They added Nicholas Merz on bass, who also opened for them during their tour (and is a talented alternative-country artist in his own right, like a less-flamboyant version of Orville Peck). Having members on multiple continents and at different stages in their lives proved challenging, but the recording proved to be a successful, primarily live session.
Sunset Rubdown have always been Krug’s most ambitious project, making Always Happy to Explode a surprising addition. The album includes some of their quintessential complex compositions, but the band rarely rachet up the intensity, perhaps because they are missing the critical lead guitar. Even with considerable contributions from the ensemble, Always Happy to Explode comes across like a Krug opus first and foremost, which is never a bad thing, but it takes away from the major occasion, which is Sunset Rubdown releasing their first LP in 15 years.
The tracks here were taken from demos Krug posted on his Patreon page, making no bones that his songwriting would serve as Always Happy to Explode‘s core despite the talent surrounding him. Slower melodies like “Snowball” and “Fable Killer” could have been part of a Moonface record, even considering the former’s sophisticated orchestration. On the other hand, “Reappearing Rat” probably would have been better suited for the next Wolf Parade release (fingers crossed that happens).
“Reappearing Rat”, with its bass-line hook and driving rhythm, offers an immediacy not experienced elsewhere on the album, so it was easily selected as the lead single. Aside from that song, there are no real bangers here, which is what listeners have come to expect from Sunset Rubdown, with classics like “Snake’s Got a Leg III” (Shut Up I Am Dreaming, 2006), “Up on Your Leopard, Upon the End of Your Feral Days” (Random Spirit Lover, 2007), and “Idiot Heart” (Dragonslayer, 2009).
Some of the tunes call forth the band’s distinguishable sound but not necessarily in the most appealing manner. “Ghoulish Hearts”, with its prominent drums, synth, and keys, sounds like Chad VanGaalen, which is not a bad thing by itself. The problem is that the repetitious refrain becomes grating, especially when a song of such weight suggests it was meant to be the album’s crux. “Candles” works as a synth-heavy track but also serves as a stark reminder that the group had to pivot to create new points of tension (similar to how Wye Oak were obliged to reintroduce themselves after they ditched the electric guitars).
Wynne’s vocals feature more prominently here than on other releases. Always Happy to Explode feels more romantic as a result, even if that wasn’t the intention. The call-and-response vocals on “All Right” feature the lyrics, “I think a thousand years have passed since I first danced with you / When we were all alright and the night was at our knees.” Wynne’s contributions to “Candles”, would fit nicely on a New Pornographers record. As a song that references the pandemic, it includes lyrics that are as revelatory as they are simple, “Call me if you need me I’m still here / I am in the last place you went looking for me.”
Despite flaws resulting from certain limitations, some of the tracks are downright disarming. Take “Worm”, which is maybe the simplest Sunset Rubdown track and arguably the most beautiful. As the title suggests, the song worms its way into one’s soul through its tranquility. Krug’s work in Sunset Rubdown has often drawn comparisons to David Bowie, actually finding reference points across Bowie’s different incarnations. Similar to “Worm”, “Cliché Town” would fit nicely into Berlin-era Bowie, with its Philip Glass-style meandering piano and shrill keyboard. The last-minute interjects some much-needed urgency to the track, which risks becoming monotonous.
Always Happy to Explode is a tough one to reckon with in Krug’s substantial catalog, especially as a Sunset Rubdown offering. On the one hand, the band’s unexpected return is something to be celebrated. The addition of Merz on bass is excellent, especially with some of the textures he can add as a result. Without the electric guitar, Krug can focus on the beauty of his music and not just what we have come to appreciate as beautifully bizarre.
With that said, fans will long for the project’s angular instrumentation, choppy transitions, and audacious sound structures. Sunset Rubdown have always presented their craft as if it were constructed at a toddler’s activity table, a space where anything goes. It has been the more extemporaneous side of Krug’s art, where Wolf Parade was the sober flipside to that coin. On Always Happy to Explode, Sunset Rubdown are still distinguishable as their own thing, but only ever so slightly with respect to Krug’s primary role as auteur.