Demons of Ruby Mae - Heliacal

  by Adrian Huggins

published: 10 / 3 / 2013

Label: Demons of Ruby Mae
Format: CDS

intro

Sparse, but mesmerising debut EP from Leicester-based trio, Demons of Ruby Mae

With their simplistic approach with astripped back piano, guitar and drums, Demons of Ruby Mae do a great job of making the most with what they’ve got, or rather what they have chosen to have. Having originally started out as a two-piece with founding members Adam Rowley and Jonny Gavin, who previously played together in Leicester's the Chairmen, they added Dino Johnson on drums six months into their existence to bring the whole sound up. This definitely seems to have done the trick with their debut EP 'Heliacal', which invests in a delicate use of sound rather than trying to fill all the noise cavities for the sake of it. ‘Brooding’ is one of those words that gets wheeled out far too often. It wouldn’t be my place to say whether this is due to the sheer amount of ‘brood’ in music these days or was more of a result of the limited vocabulary of the modern reviewer, but not even the thesaurus function on my laptop could give me with a better way to describe the vocals on ‘Heliacal'. 'You Got It Wrong’ is a brilliant example of this and also of that sparing use of the instruments. Its verses consist of the lightest of percussion, little to no guitars and some gorgeously haunting piano, before it bursts into a chorus that has such impact you can’t help but be drawn in by it, much in the way you would listening to Jeff Buckley. With that groundwork laid by that track and opening song ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf’, ‘Hope Is’ carries on in a similar vein yet manages to not sound at all formulaic. All the tunes have a soul about them that is simplistic and mesmerising. It ends perfectly with the much more upbeat ‘Volcanic Mouth’. 'Heliacal' is the sort of EP that makes me want to go round to all the people that consider Radio One and people like Adele as the be all and end all of music and say, "No, you’re wrong. They’re wrong. She’s wrong. It is probably not her fault, but there is more out there, and it sounds like this, and it can be brilliant." Demons of Ruby Mae are already making a name for themselves as a live act, and they make the sort of music that people will consider their own.

Track Listing:-

Band Links:-