Spencer Krug

As the Canadian musician behind Sunset Rubdown and Moonface, co-frontman of Wolf Parade, songwriting member of Swan Lake, and keyboardist for Frog Eyes and Fifths of Seven, Spencer Krug has been a major player on nearly thirty releases within the past two decades. He currently writes and releases music under his own name, and performs a mix of new and old material on stage.

Sunset Rubdown

Twenty years ago Spencer Krug began using the name Sunset Rubdown for his solo bedroom recordings—experiments too low-fi and odd for what was then a blossoming Wolf Parade—but by 2006 Sunset Rubdown had evolved into a full band, with core members Michael Doerksen, Jordan Robson-Cramer, and Camilla Wynne having joined Krug on the stage and in the studio.

By 2009 the band had released three critically acclaimed albums, Shut Up I Am Dreaming, Random Spirit Lover, and (with the addition of Mark Nicol on bass) Dragonslayer. Sunset Rubdown toured extensively across North America, Europe, and Japan, before quietly disbanding after their final show in Tokyo, late 2009.

Fast forward twelve-and-a-half years to Krug whimsically sending the band a group email about a possible reunion, each member replying with an enthusiastic “Yes” that same afternoon, and a dormant volcano beginning to rumble...

Despite over a decade of Krug incorrectly assuring fans it would never happen, Sunset Rubdown has reunited, with an extensive reunion tour already under their collective belt, and a fourth LP in the works. Krug admits he was the last one to think a Sunset Rubdown reunion would ever happen, but is grateful he was wrong.

Moonface

Moonface began in 2010 as a solo project of the already-incredibly-busy Montreal, Canada multi-instrumentalist Spencer Krug. Krug was at that point perhaps best known as the pianist, singer, and a primary songwriter for indie bands Wolf Parade and Sunset Rubdown, but he has also logged time with Frog Eyes, Swan Lake, Fifths of Seven, and more. The incredibly prolific songwriter used Moonface as an outlet for his dark pop and melodious experiments that didn't fit with any other of his other more collaborative projects. While the Moonface recordings were often moody and atmospheric, they were also expressive, heartfelt, and subtly witty, with 2013's Julia with Blue Jeans On and 2016's My Best Human Face (the latter a collaboration with Siinai) capturing Krug's project at its peak.

The Moonface project debuted in recorded form with 2010's Dreamland EP: Marimba & Shit-Drums on the Jagjaguwar label, followed the next year by the full-length Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I'd Hoped. Moonface's second album, Heartbreaking Bravery, was released in 2012, with Julia with Blue Jeans arriving the following year. Krug relocated to Finland that year, recording the album with Helsinki band Siinai, who had toured Europe with Wolf Parade in 2009. Krug sang and played keyboards on the album, with filling out its moody compositions. He stayed on in Finland until 2014, recording the songs that would appear on the City Wrecker EP that year, before moving back to Canada. Krug would team up with the Finnish Krautrockers once again in 2016 for the full-length outing My Best Human Face. In 2018, Krug released This One's for the Dancer & This One's for the Dancer's Bouquet, a concept album that was assembled from recordings intended for two separate albums cut over a space of seven years. In press materials for the album, Krug announced that it would be the last Moonface album, and that his future solo endeavors would be released under his own name. ~ Fred Thomas & Mark Deming, Rovi

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