Moonface, the solo project of Spencer Krug (Wolf Parade, Swan Lake, Sunset Rubdown, etc) is a simple showcase for Krug’s trademark warble and piano playing. I’ll be honest, I haven’t indulged in the two prior LPs but the debut EP, essentially a 20 minute piece, intrigued me. Julia is a bit of a dark record, more in line with his Swan Lake writing than Wolf Parade’s upbeat, twisted pop. The thing that made WP work though, was that back and forth between co-vocalist Dan Boeckner - Krug’s vocals have always been grating and absurd to a point. It’s most striking then, that the live-off-the-floor Julia is a success. “Barbarian II” is a devastating blow, while “First Violin” is gorgeous. Though it is honestly hard to take it all in (and more than a little self-indulgent) this is strong work from Krug, best taken with tiny bites.

Published in Volume 68, Number 11 of The Uniter (November 13, 2013)