Pitchfork

Spencer Krug's obsessiveness is admirable: This sweeping glam anthem in the tradition of "Stadiums and Shrines II" finds the winged lovers and oceans at the end of Shut Up I Am Dreaming still toppling like a two-backed Icarus. This time, though, they're embracing-- or at least having better luck grasping-- the blind struggle of life's ebb and flow. Or maybe they're heading skyward on the backs of birds, or just trying to pull something tangible from the mire? It isn't clear: Confusion and illusion are two of the track's major themes.

"Your pattern of flight is chaotic and blind/ But it's right 'cause chaos is yours and chaos is mine," yelps Krug, then spinning things around on a Bowie-powered top: "And chaos is love, and they say love is blind." Later comes "wicked" collisions shifting life's perspective, inspiring the idea that "the truth is just smoke in your eyes." Besides the opaque, but poetic lyrics and overall upward leap, this Daytrotter.com session piece benefits from the four-track, analog recording (bright/clear vocals, 1980s synthesized keyboard, decent drum sound, and nice rocker guitar flutters).

I've already tossed a shitload of praise Krug's way for his work here and in Wolf Parade, but this is further evidence of his uncanny ability to pen familiar yet totally singular, eccentric pop gems. In fact, if "Winged/Wicked Things" had shown up on Shut Up, it could've been the best track of the collection-- and that's saying a lot.