The Ruby Suns have found their place in the music scene with their masterful pop melodies and has been with us for almost half a decade now. However, this third album is a departure from the sound we know them for. It will be interesting to see if this departure is an evolution into pop gods or demons.
I would like to question the success of this new sound. It is very uneven and comes off more as a poorly executed concept than a full-fledged realized album. Some styles are better played with when you can prove your experience and understanding of them. I wouldn’t say that’s the case here.
It has a few brilliant moments, but as an album it fails on many fronts. The sound throughout the album is very bland and lacks a focus. Ongoing bland loops and rhythms that never seem to convey any identity or manage to stand out. This new bland music is rather offensive in comparison to their previous music that was way more graciously delivered, even if it wasn’t exactly the highest caliber of pop music.
Out of the rare momentums of the album, I would like to dwell deeper into why the song “Cinco” does things well while the others don’t as much. Unfortunately it is the only highlight of this sophomore effort. In contrast to the lackluster tracks on the album, this track has focus and identity. The melody is very pleasant with some playful tropical beats and a great attention to detail. Normally the melody-shifts on the album are making the songs worse, but that’s not the case with this one. Instead they are complementing the song to remain both fresh and exciting. These pleasing additions give it more variation and flavour. “Cinco” truly represents music with beauty and originality.
Unfortunately, the rest of the album is pretty much the opposite of what has grabbed my attention here. There are a few positive songs that are enjoyable to some extent, but they are usually better in the beginning than during their lifespan. What I mean here is that the melodies are suffering from frequent uneven shifts; and in effect this lack of focus is ruining what used to be an enjoyable song. At first everything seems to blend together well, but then suddenly the song is thrown out of focus by some disturbing effects or parts. This ruins a lot of the songs on the album and it happens well too often, but let’s not forget how repetitive the melodies might stay. If things were more focused without these experimental additions from the musician himself it would have kept a song more appealing. Like the song “Cranberry” would have benefit greatly of losing the bland intro. It is still a pleasant song, but the beginning can easily put anyone off focus before the song kicks in.
It really hurts this new sound when the music shifts without finding its focus, and the uninspiring use of effects here isn’t pulling any good impressions. The only thing that is worth your attention on this album is the masterpiece “Cinco.” Buy this track on itunes or whatever digital music service you prefer and let’s all pretend there was no more abonimation.