Categories : Music Reviews, Rock + Pop.
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Rating: 3 / 5 Reviewer: Kevin Hartford |
Imagine Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavilion covered by Sigur Ros on a spaceship that makes frequent pit stops in the late 1980s and you should have a vague idea of what Fight Softly, the third album by New Zealand indie rockers Ruby Suns, sounds like: upbeat melodies, dreamy vocals, nonlinear song structures, and lots and lots of samples.
Softly is the kind of album that would be impossible to recreate live unless every instrument on stage was a synthesizer. ‘Cinco’ and ‘Mingus and Pike’ would fit nicely on the Breakfast Club soundtrack. ‘Haunted House’ and ‘Two Humans,’ on the other hand, veer awkwardly toward ethereal, Enya-style new age.
And while a lot of good can be said about this album – it’s enjoyable, none of the songs are duds – it’s difficult to listen to it without constantly being reminded of Merriweather, and realizing how much Fight Softly suffers in comparison. Softly will probably be vastly more enjoyable if you’ve never heard of Animal Collective (or its members’ side projects – ‘Cranberry’ sounds like it was lifted wholesale from Panda Bear’s Person Pitch). The songs are just too similar.
The Ruby Suns is a good band and their work here shows a lot of promise, but hopefully their next effort will sound like more than just the sum of its influences.
