Better Than Ice Cream, Vol. 30 by Wes Keyes

OK, this might get a little confusing, so hang on… Spencer Krug formed Frog Eyes with roommate Carey Mercer and released multiple albums together. After moving to Montreal from Victoria, Spencer formed Wolf Parade with Dan Boeckner. The Duo was later joined by Dante DeCaro of Hot Hot Heat. After Spencers move, Carey formed little known Blackout Beach but Frog Eyes still performs with and without Spencer. While a member of Wolf Parade, Spencer had various side projects, including instrumental trio Fifths of Seven and the group Sunset Rubdown. Sunset started as a solo act but has became a functional group. Now, back to Wolf Parade for a second. Guitarist Dan Boeckner formed Handsome Furs with his fiance Alexei Perry, but still tours with WP. Boeckner also played on Islands debut album. See my earlier post about Islands and Human Highway. To further complicate things, Carey Mercer and Spencer Krug joined up with Dan Bejar to form Swan Lake. Dan is a member of The New Pornographers, and records some semi-solo material under the moniker Destroyer. I don’t know how in the hell any of these guys can remeber which group they’re playing/touring with at any given moment. Pick a group! or dissolve them all and create a Canadian indie rock orchestra and put out an album. That was only a joke, but could be pretty cool… Either way, they all put out great music. There are a few tracks below, but every album is worth a listen. F-ing Canadians!!!

Swan Lake – Settle on Your Skin

Sunset Rubdown – Nightingale/December Song

Destroyer – Dark Leaves Form a Thread

Handsome Furs – Thy Will Be Done