Ruby Suns - Ruby Suns
by Mark Rowland
published: 10 / 12 / 2006
Label:
Memphis Industries
Format: CD
intro
Sunny, perfectly harmonied, leftfield indiepop on debut album from the Ruby Suns, the project of Southern Californian-born but now New Zealand-based Ryan McPhun
Ryan McPhun left Southern California and its trend-driven indie scene for New Zealand and has never looked back. It was in New Zealand that he formed the Ruby Suns, part of a scene that revolves around Lil’ Chief Records, where everyone plays in each other’s bands. The Ruby Suns are basically a leftfield indie version of the Beach Boys, complete with impeccable harmonies, sunny melodies, and lyrics filed with naïve imagery. The first two tracks, ‘Trees Like Kids’ and ‘Sleep in the Garden’, are essentially a cappella tracks, made up of layered voices. On third track ‘Maasai Mara’ you hear the fullness of the band’s sound, bringing to mind the densely-layered and equally sunny compositions of Sufjan Stevens and the Polyphonic Spree. ‘Look Out SOS!’ is a standout track, as is ‘Criterion’, which is particularly ‘Pet Sounds’-esque. Its accordion line and chord structure gives ‘Birthday on Mars’ a distinctly Gallic feel for the first half of the song, until switching back to a Beach Boys sound when McPhun’s vocals kick in.
Track Listing:-
1 Trees Like Kids2 Sleep in the Garden
3 Maasai Mara
4 Look out SOS!
5 Function of the Sun
6 It´s Hard to Let You Know
7 Criterion
8 Birthday on Mars
9 Trepidation Part One
10 Trepidation Part Two
11 My Ten Years On Auto-Pilot
12 There´s Soup At the End of The Tunnel
Label Links:-
http://www.memphis-industries.com/https://www.facebook.com/memphisindustries
https://twitter.com/memphisind
https://www.youtube.com/user/mattmemphis
https://plus.google.com/+memphisindustries
reviews |
|
Sea Lion (2008) |
|
| Stunning second album from New Zealand three piece the Ruby Suns, who make orchestral music with a breezy sound and quirky lyrics |
most viewed articles
current edition
Carl Ewens - David Bowie 1964 to 1982 On Track: Every Album, Every SongArmory Show - Interview with Richard Jobson
Colin Blunstone - Thalia Hall, Chicago, 16/7/2025
John McKay - Interview
Visor Fest - Valencia, Spain, 26/9/2025...27/9/2025
Bathers - Photoscapes 1
Billie Eilish - O2 Arena, London, 10/7/2025
Loft - Interview
Robert Forster - Interview
Sir Tim Rice - Interview
most viewed reviews
current edition
Davey Woodward - Mumbo in the JumboSick Man of Europe - The Sick Man of Europe
Lucy Spraggan - Other Sides of the Moon
Amy Macdonald - Is This What You've Been Waiting For?
Phew, Erika Kobayashi,, Dieter Moebius - Radium Girls
Bush - I Beat Loneliness
Suzanne Vega - Flying With Angels
Alice Cooper - The Revenge of Alice Cooper
Cynthia Erivo - I Forgive You
Blueboy - 2
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart