And you will never see the alligator's glade

Swan Lake is supergroup of sorts. Prolific Canadians Dan Bejar (Destroyer), Spencer Krug (Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown), and Casey Mercer (Frog Eyes, Blackout Beach) have somehow found the time to release their second album, Enemy Mine, which is an outstanding follow-up to 2006's Beast Moans. Though you could say I am more of a Destroyer/Wolf Parade/Sunset Rubdown fan, Casey's songs are particularly strong here. But all three possess an uncanny ability to write cryptic, yet beautiful and emotionally identifiable, lyrics, envelop the listener in a swirling mass of guitar, keyboards, and vocals, and inject a repeated word, phrase, or verse with emotion and higher meaning.

The band's label, Jagjaguar, has made three mp3's available for download, one from each songwriter - Casey, Dan, and Spencer respectively.

Swan Lake - Spanish Gold, 2044
Swan Lake - Spider
Swan Lake - A Hand At Dusk
Buy

And a fantastic Spencer track from Beast Moans...
Swan Lake - All Fires
Buy


And finally, in celebration of a new Sunset Rubdown album in June, here is my favorite track from their 2007 album Random Spirit Lover...
Sunset Rubdown - The Mending of the Gown
Buy