Spencer Krug擁有許多化身，自從他的樂團Wolf Parade在2005年成為獨立搖滾新星以來，他眾多的音樂計畫逐漸累積了許多樂迷。不過他這次的變身是成為他自己，自出道以來首度以個人名義推出專輯，透過自行成立、名稱幽默的廠牌Pronounced Kroog發行。雖然Spencer Krug在音樂中經常感嘆自己很老派、跟不上時代，近年來他卻趕上音樂人成立Patreon頁面的潮流，在上面對贊助者每個月發行新歌、即興作品、舊歌改編和現場影像等等，並藉此籌募了最新專輯《Fading Graffiti》的資金。
《Fading Graffiti》所有收錄的歌曲都曾經以慢速鋼琴曲的形式出現在 Spencer Krug的Patreon頁面上，他其實可以輕輕鬆鬆把這些歌曲集結成又一張以鋼琴曲為主的專輯，但他卻選擇組一個完整的樂團（成員包括電吉他手Jordan Koop、貝斯手Adrienne Humblet、踏板鋼棒吉他手Nicholas Merz和鼓手Eli Browning）來重新詮釋這些歌，將它們轉換成帶有民謠風格的搖滾歌曲。樂團成員的貢獻功不可沒，我個人認為專輯中呈現歌曲的方式遠勝過當初的demo，讓歌曲更多元且能傳達多種不同的情感。
最終錄出來的專輯捕捉到Krug比較寧靜的人生階段，部分主題包括平靜地待在家中、成為父親、愛情、觀察自然環境等等。如同往常，Krug的音樂充滿了高潮起伏，不過他處理各種轉折的手法顯得駕輕就熟。這並不表示他這張專輯往商業化靠攏，某些音樂元素剛開始聽的時候還會有點挑戰性。比如說開場的專輯同名曲〈Fading Graffiti〉曲折的吉他就讓我花了一些時間適應，音色帶點鄉村音樂的味道，還有顫動的撥弦聲有點像他的Swan Lake舊夥伴Dan Bejar (Destroyer) 會寫的音樂。不久之後這首歌就烙印在我腦海中，不只人聲部分，連吉他旋律我都可以從頭哼到尾，真的很奇怪。
接連的三首歌都令人驚豔。如前所述，Spencer Krug曾出過一些全收錄鋼琴曲的專輯，但這張專輯的鋼琴卻不多。〈Winter Starts to Fall〉是個例外，優雅的鋼琴演奏陸陸續續在歌曲的前三分之二出現，讓人想起Krug的Moonface時期作品。歌曲後半段突然一個大轉彎，推送一道節奏強勁的音流，Krug反覆唱道「你虧欠我，我是多麼愛你」，聽起來既浪漫又有點扭曲。〈Having Discovered Ayahuasca〉起初又帶有鄉村樂風情和Destroyer的調調。Krug委婉批評人的迷障和對偽靈性體驗的追求。這首歌旋律美妙，幾處漂亮轉場Wolf Parade的歌迷應該都會很熟悉。Krug所唱的歌詞「如果你拯救我，我就能拯救你我彼此」非常深刻，聽後在我心中迴盪數日。〈River River〉可能是專輯中最搖滾的曲子，Krug用河流比喻遺忘，以他招牌的激情呼喊感嘆記憶的流逝，如果有機會現場演出的話，定能挑動觀眾的情緒。
〈River River〉之後的曲子逐漸染上哀傷的色調，在專輯中間比較出色的曲子是〈The Moon and the Dream〉和〈Serena's Kills〉。如同歌名所示，〈The Moon and the Dream〉的樂音使人如在夢中，近似先前Moonface的音樂，樂手們製造出爵士風格的神秘氣氛，圍繞著Krug的歌聲。〈Serena's Kills〉起源自Patreon上樂迷的建議，他好奇Spencer Krug能不能用〈Serena's Kills〉這個歌名創作出新歌，成品聽起來Krug表演時可能樂在其中，還加入了類似〈Fading Graffiti〉的回彈吉他、奇特的鼓點，以及突兀卻莫名在這首歌上發揮作用的轉折點。
倒數第二首歌〈Crossroads〉情感奔放，Speneer Krug經常在作品中寫出他個人對音樂生涯的不安，例如Sunset Rubdown的〈You Go On Ahead (Trumpet Trumpet II〉、Moonface的〈November 2011〉等等，但他這次的憂慮感可能比以往更複雜難解。他描述外界勢力（「他們已經著手做出了一個真實黑洞的畫像，但實際上卻是在描繪一個企圖吞噬我們的神」）使得音樂創作充滿危機。也許正是這種存在焦慮驅使他不放棄音樂，「你能不能告訴我，再告訴我一次，我如何在某種程度上能治癒他人？」你可以的，Spencer。
專輯以樂觀的〈Ping a Wing Above the Door〉結束。雖然這首歌寫於疫情發生前，但其中情景適用於人們在過去一年內或多或少有經歷過的封城情況。Krug寫出他和妻子在居家生活中創造出的溫暖安心環境，像是「整個月和你在家閒晃的時光，我感到很開心」、「坐在浴缸裡，筆電裡播放我們兩個都看過的節目」、「只有我們和狗，都不動如山，我再也不會離開」這樣的詞句顯示出Krug已經找到真正的快樂，對於我們目前無法任意移動的情況也提供一個令人耳目一新的想法——當我們只能待在家裡時，也許能和心愛的人建立更親密的連結。
整體而言，《Fading Graffiti》在Spencer Krug的企圖心和樂迷期待之間找到了平衡點。Krug找到了方法能維持創作自由，而不必屈就於廠牌可能對他的要求，真是一件可喜的事。希望他繼續把比較有商業價值的作品留給Wolf Parade，而在他的個人計畫中繼續玩一些有趣的音樂。
by Debby
Spencer Krug is a man of many guises. His overwhelmingly large number of musical projects has dazzled many since his band Wolf Parade became indie darlings in 2005. His latest metamorphosis is just his bare self, releasing an album under his own name for the first time under his own humorously-titled label Pronounced Kroog. Despite the recurring theme of being out-of-time in his songs, he managed to jump on the bandwagon of starting a Patreon page, where he releases a new song every month (along with improvisations, reworked old songs, and live footages) and has obtained funding for his latest solo album Fading Graffiti.
While all songs on Fading Graffiti previously appeared as low-key piano ballads on Krug's Patreon, and it would have been easy for him to compile them into yet another album, Krug chose to reinterpret the bunch by recruiting a band (with Jordan Koop on electric guitar, Adrienne Humblet on bass, Nicholas Merz on pedal steel guitar, and Eli Browning on drums) and transforming it into folk-oriented rock songs. The team effort is commendable since I personally much prefer the songs' current forms to the original demos, giving the songs more dynamics and diverse moods.
The end product captures a more serene period of Krug's life. Some of the subject matters include being at peace at home, potential fatherhood, being in love, and observing natural surroundings. As usual, Krug's songs have plenty of twists and turns, but his delivery of them seems calm and collected this time. Still, the album is a far cry from going commercial; certain elements might initially pose slight challenges to the listening experience. For instance, the winding guitar intro of the eponymous opener Fading Graffiti took me some time to get used to. The guitars are tinged with country music flavors, and the strange twangy sounds remind me of the music by his old band mate in Swan Lake, Dan Bejar (Destroyer). Before long, the song gets stuck in my head, and I can hum the vocal parts and even the guitar melodies all the way through. Strange, indeed.
The subsequent three songs in succession are truly stunning. With Krug's discography of piano tunes, Fading Graffiti has surprisingly little piano on it. Winter Starts to Fall ,however, has elegant piano flourishes scattered in the first two-thirds the song, reminding me of his Moonface days. The song makes a dramatic turn at the last minutes, carrying forward a propelling bridge with sing-along vocals of "You owe me for how much I love you". It is both romantic and slightly twisted. Having Discovered Ayahuasca is country-flavored at first and has that Destroyer-vibe again. Krug makes gentle reproaches to people's superstition and quest for faux-pas spiritual journeys. The song's catchy melodies culminate in masterful transitions that would be familiar to Wolf Parade fans. The poignant line near the end "If you could save me, I can save us both" lingers in my mind for days. River River is possibly the rockiest song on the record. Using the river as a metaphor for forgetfulness, Krug laments the faded memories with his signature passionate howls. It would certainly stir up the crowd when performed live.
Songs increasingly take up somber tones after River River. Highlights in this middle section include The Moon and the Dream and Serena's Kills. The Moon and the Dream, as the title suggests, has dreamlike qualities to its sound, reminiscent of some of songs Krug had written as Moonface. The band creates jazzy and mysterious atmospheres that surround Krug's vocals. Serena's Kills originated from a fan's suggestion on Patreon. A fan on Krug's Patreon wondered if Krug could compose a song out of the title Serena's Kills. It seems that Krug had fun writing and performing this song, which has the twangy guitars on Fading Graffiti, eerie drum beats, and abrupt transitions that somehow work for the song.
The penultimate track Crossroads is the song with most intense emotions on the album. Krug has always had insecurities about his music career (e.g. Sunset Rubdown's You Go On Ahead (Trumpet Trumpet II), Moonface's November 2011), but his anxiety this time is admittedly even more complicated. He describes prevailing outside forces ("Now they've gone and made a portrait of an actual black hole/Which of course is just a portrait of a god that wants to swallow us all whole") that pose great danger to music making. Perhaps it is this existential crisis that propels him not give up musical composition. "And won't you tell me, won't you tell me again/How I'm some kind of healer?" Well, you are, Spencer.
The album ends on an optimistic note with Ping a Wing above the Door. Although this song was written before the coronavirus pandemic, it could apply to the lockdown situation people more or less found themselves under over the past year. Krug describes the warm cocoon his partner and he had created in their domestic life. Lines like "I had a good time just hanging around the house with you all month" and "A bathtub and a laptop showing shows that we've both seen", "Just us and the dog, we were all as still as stones/I'm not moving anymore" suggest true happiness and offers a breath of fresh air in our current immobility—it is possible to forge deeper ties with our beloved when we are stuck at home.
Overall, Fading Graffiti is an album that strikes a balance between Spencer Krug's ambitions and fan expectations. It is wonderful that Krug finds a way to keep making the music he wants to make without giving in to the possible demands from labels. I hope he continues to leave his more commercially viable endeavors to Wolf Parade and create interesting music in his personal pursuits.
