Four years ago, Moonface (aka Spencer Krug from Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown, Frog Eyes, et al) teamed with Finnish Siinai for an album called Heartbreaking Bravery. I had always assumed it was a one-off collaboration, especially since the last few Moonface releases have been solo piano balladry, which is why I was delightfully surprised when they announced a brand new song last week.
"Risto's Riff" is the lead single to My Best Human Face -- out June 3rd on Jagjaguwar -- and immediately became my favourite song of the year. Krug says about the song:
This song originated with a pleasingly simple riff from guitarist Risto Joensuu, hence the name. For a long time it had a down-tempo, nitty-gritty-rock'n'roll kind of vibe that ultimately left us unable to finish it in a way that we liked, though we weren't exactly sure why. It was like maybe we were making a song for our dads, not ourselves. But then in the recording studio we changed the beat and started playing it really fast instead, and within an hour the music was finished and put to tape. And then we had a round of high-fives. Not literally, but emotionally. Like with our eyes. Eye-fives.
