Since disbanding Wolf Parade in 2011, Spencer Krug has increasingly turned to solo pursuits like Moonface for his creative output. Today, Moonface’s new LP Julia with Blue Jeans On is out via Jagjaguwar, and for the new album Krug has really stripped back his approach, using only vocals and piano to explore an intimate, and at times eviscerating, self-reflection. After the breakup of a relationship several years back, and the ending of Wolf Parade, Krug decided to relocate from Montreal to Helsinki, where he recorded 2012’s Heartbreaking Bravery with the Finnish band Siinai. Since then, the artist has stayed on in Finland, and perhaps the new, and different environment, has given him further freedom to explore his artistic practices, as Julia with Blue Jeans On represents a bit of a departure from his previous output, while seemingly putting him more closely intouch with his training in musical composition and early beginnings playing piano. On “Barbarian“, Krug uses a very pointed confessional mode to plumb his own personal depths, and while his facility on piano is evident, the artist’s lyrics and vocal delivery make the track necessarily “messy”, in an emotional sense. The piano adds a “classical” element to the music, but “Barbarian” still feels like an improvised and spontaneous release! The video for the cut features an old VHS home movie, with a young Spencer Krug “dancing” on the right, and later performing a strange talcum powder ritual to conclude. Don’t miss the live Moonface dates below.
Moonface Live:
11/3/13 London (UK) – St. Pancras Old Church (SOLD OUT)
11/5 Chicago IL (USA) – Chopin Theatre
11/8/13 Philadelphia PA (USA) – Underground Arts
11/9/13 New York NY (USA) – Le Poisson Rouge
11/16/13 Vancouver BC (CAN) – Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre
11/17/13 Seattle WA (USA) – Columbia City Theatre
11/19/13 San Franciso CA (USA) – Cafe du Nord Swedish American Music Hall
11/20/13 Los Angeles CA (USA) – Hollywood Forever Cemetery
11/27/13 Leuven (BE) – Stuk
11/28/13 Paris (FR) – Les Trois Baudet
12/01/13 Utrecht (NL) – Le Guess Who? Festival
12/07/13 Tokyo (JP) – Jinbocho ShichoShitsu
12/08/13 Nagano (JP) – Hara-mura: Song of the Bird
12/10/13 Kyoto (JP) – UrBNGUILD
12/12/13 Nagoya (JP) – KD Japan
1/27/14 London (UK) – Royal Albert Hall
