Hello reader,
Ready to add another artist making great music to your weekend playlist?
Today I’m excited to discuss Canadian singer-songwriter, Spencer Krug. For longtime SWT followers, the name might sound familiar as he wrote an essay for us about his band Sunset Rubdown, which released an album around that time. He is also a member of the popular indie rock group Wolf Parade, and his label Pronounced Kroog has a pretty impressive lineup.
On May 15th, he will release a new solo album, entitled Same Fangs, via his label. It’s an album we at SWT feel will appeal to fans of alternative, indie, singer-songwriter, piano-based, folk, and minimalist music.
The album was drawn from demos posted to Krug’s Patreon page throughout 2024 and 2025, and later re-recorded in a single week on Gabriola Island at The Noise Floor Studio (near Vancouver). Piano and vocals at the heart of the sound, with accompanying percussion and string arrangements from Maria Grigoryeva, electric guitar and textures from Jordan Koop (who also recorded and mixed the album), and vocals from Elbow Kiss.
According to his website, “Lyrically, Same Fangs moves through life in bands, marriage and fatherhood, ending friendships, small-town living, political fatigue, gratitude, and songwriting itself. It’s reflective without softening the edges.”
One of my favorite songs from the album is the single “Berserker Mode.” At the surface level, the name instantly drew me to its uniqueness. I don’t recall a song with that name, and I really got hyped to hear something special. Fortunate the song delivers on that promise. The song is driven by an irresistibly catchy, groovy piano melody and Krug’s emotive singing about, according to a press release, “watching a friend spiral in real time.” The lyrics talk about a friend who is out of reach, even if they’re right next to you.
The song leans more outward compared to the album’s first single, “Timebomb,” with lyrics about chaos and consequences. According to the press release, “It’s restless, sharp, and a little unpredictable. A song about watching someone move through the world at full tilt, consequences trailing just behind them.”
“The one who keeps blowing up their own life in slow motion, not out of malice, but momentum. They make enemies without meaning to. They move constantly, maybe because standing still would mean facing something harder. They don’t really self-censor, and they don’t adjust course. They stick to the version of themselves they’ve chosen, even as it starts to crack.”
That perceived beauty and distance of the song is evident in his lyric “Your only rose is your own secret rose.”
“Musically, I love playing this one,” Krug says via press release. “I love the groove. The shapes and patterns on the piano are incredibly pleasing to play, in terms of movement, ergonomics, and tactility. And it’s a fun one to sing.”
Krug wrote the song in the summer of 2024 and first shared it as a stripped piano demo. It went through several iterations before its finished form, including a synth version. Ultimately, he realized the piano fit the song and gave it another shot.
The press release puts it perfectly: “What stuck was the pulse. A tight, percussive piano performance, locked in with percussion and lifted by the vocal presence of Elbow Kiss, which gives the song its sense of motion and release.”
The press release describes the piano as having a physicality in carrying the melody, which, for me, is aptly put. It grabbed my attention from start to finish. It captures the friction, affection, and frustration of the lyrics perfectly. Krug’s piano playing and voice leave an impact, as they do on the rest of the album.
It’s further proof of how versatile an artist Krug is, showing he can succeed in both minimal and maximal soundscapes.
You can connect and listen to Spencer Krug at the following links:
Website: Pronouncedkroog.com
Facebook: Facebook.com/SpencerKrugOfficial
Instagram: Instagram.com/krugspencer
Spotify: Spencer Krug on Spotify
Bandcamp: Pronouncedkroog.bandcamp.com
YouTube: Youtube.com/spencerkrugofficial
You can catch Spencer at the following Canadian tour dates:
MAY 14th – MAY SALT SPRING ISLAND, BC — ALL SAINTS BY THE SEA
MAY 15th – VICTORIA, BC — WOOD HALL
MAY 16th – COURTENAY, BC — CVGBS
MAY 20th – PENTICTON, BC — THE HUB
MAY 22nd – LETHBRIDGE, AB — THE OWL ACOUSTIC LOUNGE
MAY 23rd – CALGARY — EAST TOWN GET DOWN FESTIVAL
MAY 24th – EDMONTON — THE AVIARY
MAY 26th – SASKATOON — BLACK CAT TAVERN
MAY 27th – REGINA — THE EXCHANGE
MAY 28th – DRUMHELLER, AB — TBD
MAY 30th & 31st – YMIR, BC — TINY LIGHTS FESTIVAL
JUNE 5th – VANCOUVER — ST JAMES HALL
JUNE 6th – NANAIMO, BC — TBD
Joshua is co-founder of Scummy Water Tower. He’s freelanced for a variety of newspapers, magazines, and websites, including: Rolling Stone, The Boston Globe, Chicago Sun-Times, Guitar World, MTV News, Grammy.com, Chicago Magazine, Milwaukee Magazine, MKE Lifestyle, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, A.V. Club, SPIN, Alternative Press, Under the Radar, Paste, PopMatters, American Songwriter, and Relix. You can email him at josh@scummywatertower.com.
