rubies: explode from the center

You know those girls you meet who are unfeasibly beautiful, intelligent and well-dressed? The ones with lovely friends and cool jobs? The ones who have all this, but are still so pleasant to spend time with, that it’s impossible to hate them? Well that’s Simone Rubi and her bandmate Terri Loewenthal, aka Rubies. All these elements are in place with this band. And they’re talented as well. I know. Sickening, isn’t it?

Musically, it is hard to dislike Rubies as their blend of genres and moods has both a refreshingly breezy tone and a dirtier, dancier underbelly. This is perhaps unsurprising given that Rubies’ friends include Feist and members of Kings Of Convenience, Blood Music, The Concretes and Peter, Bjorn & John, and Rubies’ tunes are an enlivening mix of all of these influences. Elements of funk creep in, too, through liberal use of synths and basslines that recall their other band Call & Response.

Opening track ‘Room Without A Key’ shimmers into life and sets the tone of assertive yet poignant electronica-tinged pop. As the songs keep coming, Rubi and Loewenthal delve into various lovely arrangements but always hinge them on a decisive beat. Though the lyrics are hardly revolutionary they are warming and harmonically sung and somehow manage to avoid sounding hackneyed or trite. The way that even the simplest of lines like “Summertime is here / can’t you see light through those branches” is delivered could trigger a flicker of a smile on even the stoniest of faces.

Rubies don’t rest on their sunshine laurels; a couple of heavier, dance-orientated tracks (’Stand In A Line’ and ‘I Feel Electric’, which features guest vocals from Feist) take their sound even further. Although both these tracks have been remixed by the likes of Trans Am and Shinichi Osawa that have taken Rubies to many a dancefloor across the world, these original versions demonstrate the perfect way to build up to a crescendo in what is otherwise a pretty tranquil record. Not only that, but their combination of peachy-smooth vocals with pulsing electro makes for a universally appealing sound.

The only downside to Explode From The Center is that it is surpassed by the Rubies live act. Unafraid to play around with their songs, Rubi and Loewenthal’s infectious stage presence is both alluring and absorbing, especially in smaller venues. They are very much a band whose focus is on exuberance and spontaneity and this freshness is evident in their music. So here they are, beautiful, talented, cool; all they need now is popularity, and on the strength of this record that shouldn’t be a problem.

[Telle; March 28, 2008]

Written by: Seb Law

Tags: explode from the center, feist, rubies

This entry was posted on Friday, August 15th, 2008 at 2:05 pm and is filed under albums & EPs, reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.