Sunset Rubdown
Sunset Rubdown was a Canadian art rock music group from Montreal. The band began as a solo project for Spencer Krug of Wolf Parade, who released his debut, "Snake's Got a Leg", in early 2005. By the next year the project expanded to become a full band which included Camilla Wynne Ingr (former Pony Up!), Jordan Robson-Cramer (Magic Weapon), and Michael Doerksen. Musical style. "Sunset Rubdown" is built around lyricist Spencer Krug's vocals and eccentric musical compositions. Krug's lyrics are characterized by surreal and mythological imagery, and often tell epic stories (most notably on  their LP "Dragonslayer"). Musically, the band's sound is highlighted by distinct drum, keyboard, and guitar signatures. Album releases. Krug released the solo-created "Sunset Rubdown" EP in January 2006. This was followed by the first full band album "Shut Up I Am Dreaming" recorded in Montreal in early 2006 and released in May to positive reviews, finishing the year with a 15th-place ranking on Pitchfork's best albums list. "Random Spirit Lover", recorded in Montreal's Breakglass studios in the late winter of 2007, was released on the band's new label, Jagjaguwar, in October of that year . The recording featured an eclectic, and elaborate collection of songs, which was heralded as one of 2007's best albums by several critics and music publications. The CD made a number of top-20 albums of the year lists, earned Pitchfork's "Best New Music" distinction and finished in 14th spot in "Pitchfork's" year-end Readers Poll. The album also made NPR's list of top albums of 2007, and was nominated for the U.S. Indie Music industry's "Plug" Award in the Best Indie Album of the Year category. In 2007, Mark Nicol was added as the band's  fifth member. Sunset Rubdown completed their first tour of UK and Europe in June 2008. The band recorded their fourth album in Chicago after a fall 2008 tour of the U.S.. Following a spring 2009 tour of several European countries, "Dragonslayer" was released on June 23, 2009 to critical acclaim. The album's 'live off the studio floor' dynamics has garnered widespread acclaim. The band once again earned "Pitchfork""'s" "Best New Music" ranking, and received a perfect '10' from England's "Drowned in Sound" web magazine, with "Dragonslayer" staying in the top-10 on Canadian and U.S. college and indie  music charts ("Earshot, Chart Attack") for 10 straight weeks through July and August 2009. "Dragonslayer" finished on many online music magazine and music blogs top albums year-end lists ("Drowned in Sound, Associated Press, Earshot"), including several Top 10 lists ("Chart Attack", "Cokemachineglow"). The album was voted as the 16th best album of the year in "Pitchfork's" year-end readers poll and also finished as one of the top-40 highest ranked/reviewed albums of the year based on "Metacritic's" tracking system. The band completed a 46-city tour of Europe, U.S and Japan from September through November 2009 , after which they disbanded. Personnel. While all members of "Sunset Rubdown" reside in Montreal, Quebec, all are transplants from other parts of Canada. Spencer Krug, Michael Doerksen and Jordan Robson-Cramer are originally from British Columbia, with Camilla Wynne Ingr originally from Alberta and Mark Nicol from Ontario.