Dragonslayer
by Sunset Rubdown
Metascore
81

Universal acclaim - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 20
  3. Negative: 0 out of 20
  1. AllMusic
    80
    As carefully crafted as it is, this is the group's most accessible record yet. And it's a damn fine one at that.
  2. Delusions of Adequacy
    90
    It’s another astounding album from a great band and one that we should get much, much more music from for many years to come.
  3. Drowned In Sound
    100
    Whatever all this means, Dragonslayer is an album to get your teeth into. As on the final chorus, it's: "a bigger kind of kill". You need this.
  5. No Ripcord
    60
    Overall, these tracks feel more like the B sides of Random Spirit Lover, maybe the acoustic B sides, the tracks that didn't quite make the cut but would definitely be of interest to ardent fans.
  6. Spin
    80
    Krug clearly takes Sunset Rubdown every bit as seriously as his day job.
  7. The Boston Phoenix
    63
    This, their third album is as ambitious as its predecessors but mutes the joy in favor of a more serious tone and tighter focus--well, as tight as an album with a 10-minute number called 'Dragon's Lair' can be. The results are mixed.
  8. The A.V. Club
    100
    It isn’t a song so much as a journey, and as with the rest of Dragonslayer, its epic ambitions are fulfilled.
  9. Tiny Mix Tapes
    80
    Whether Dragonslayer is as great as any other work is almost irrelevant; it is great and it is grand, and it is all too welcome.
  10. Rolling Stone
    70
    Epic? Extremely. Awesome? Monstrously.
  11. Dusted Magazine
    80
    On Dragonslayer, perhaps more so than any of their previous albums, Sunset Rubdown is able to create memorable, multi-part songs that stay engaging throughout and that don’t meander aimlessly.
  12. Pitchfork
    83
    Dragonslayer is a lither, more athletic Sunset record--easier to like, easier to understand.
  13. Paste Magazine
    61
    Dragonslayer eschews this cluttered approach, instead skittering through extended suites of build/release/build riff-rock that often leave Krug’s melody lines with no flint to start a fire.
  14. PopMatters
    90
    Call it surprising/delightful, or call it thrilling/glorious. Either way, Dragonslayer‘s pretty great.
  15. Prefix Magazine
    75
    While Dragonslayer might not be the best album in Krug’s robust oeuvre, there’s still enough here to convince us that Krug is still the ascendant king of indie rock, and that he might have a magnum opus yet to come.
  16. Uncut
    60
    Their grandiose Baron Muchhausen indie rock does tend to veer toward indulgent. [Jul 2009, p.101]
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  17. NOW Magazine
    80
    His tendency to cram a million ideas into every song gets toned down, too, but fans of that aesthetic shouldn’t worry; the songs are as intricate and delightfully off-kilter as ever.
  18. cokemachineglow
    84
    Dragonslayer is a shockingly good record, but it’s no surprise that things ended up this way.
  19. Under The Radar
    60
    By using fewer overdubs, Sunset Rubdown is actually undermining its strengths of expectation-defying structures and lavishly decorated arrangements. [Summer 2009, p.69]
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  20. Billboard
    60
    Nonsensical lyrics about butterflies and name-changing lovers on tracks like 'You Go On Ahead (Trumpet Trumpet II)' and 'Apollo And The Buffalo And Anna Anna Anna Oh!,' could serve as a distraction, but the songs are saved by beautifully frantic instrumentals.
  21. Filter
    70
    Krug's songwriting can't help but put a smile on your face when you really try to let your guard down, and if you want the summer documented by epic eccentricity, this is your callling. [Sep 2009, p.94]
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Awards & Rankings

73
#73 Best Album of 2009
63
#63 Most Discussed Album of 2009

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.5

Universal acclaim- based on 66 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 58 out of 66
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 66
  3. Negative: 8 out of 66
  1. KurtC
    Dec 6, 2009
    10
    Exceptional album. This one really surprised me and continues to give me goose bumps while I'll rock out to it. One of the only albums I Exceptional album. This one really surprised me and continues to give me goose bumps while I'll rock out to it. One of the only albums I own with a perfect rating of 100. A must-by and my #1 album of 2009; it also placed at #4 for the decade behind My Morning Jacket, Wilco, and Fleet Foxes to give you some reference for what I'm in to.… Full Review »
  2. BlueMeanie
    Oct 3, 2009
    9
    Wow, as an old school punker around snice the '70's, I go pale when somebody says "The New Bowie' or "neo-glam". However, this Wow, as an old school punker around snice the '70's, I go pale when somebody says "The New Bowie' or "neo-glam". However, this is the real thing! I'm amazed that this is a current band. The have the retro chops but simultaneously sound like they dropped in from the future just as Ziggy did. Every song is great. This is a classic. No bull. Classy & sleazy all at once which the best rock n' roll always is.… Full Review »
  3. RoryC.
    Sep 28, 2009
    10
    Best album I've heard this year. On par with Wolf Parade's (One of Krug's other bands) last album, but more accessible and Best album I've heard this year. On par with Wolf Parade's (One of Krug's other bands) last album, but more accessible and hopeful of finding beauty in the world. Hopefully the album that will give Sunset Rubdown the recognition they deserve.… Full Review »
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