Swan Lake: Beast Moans : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

A collaboration among three of indie rock's heavy hitters (Dan Bejar of Destroyer and New Pornographers, Casey Mercer of Frog Eyes and Spencer Krug of Wolf Parade), Swan Lake's debut, Beast Moans, has a little something for everyone: Wolf Parade's ragged post-rock, Destroyer's polite folk pop and Frog Eyes' low-fi psychedelia. With washes of tinny organs, layers of acoustic guitars and gobs of reverb, standout cuts like "The Freedom" and "A Venue Called Rubella" sound like vintage gems you'd hear a crew of drunks singing in some antique setting. But mostly there's just too much going on, as if Bejar, Mercer and Krug felt it necessary to compete in a game of sonic one-upmanship. It makes for a great atmospheric record, no doubt, but not the indie-rock tour de force one would expect from these guys.