Say It
- Born Ruffians
- Paper Bag
It's hard to say what's more fascinating about Born Ruffians: that its bonkers equilibrium and pinballing indie pop is unlike anything that's come before it, or that it's hard to imagine anything quite like it ever following in its oddly angled path in the future. It's not that the influences of the trio from Midland, Ont., are impossible to guess at - Talking Heads, Buddy Holly on a pogo stick? - it's just that the synthesis is so singular. As on the 2008 debut Red, Yellow & Blue, sharp, angst-ridden lyrics come from the yelping mouth of leader Luke Lalonde, who also supplies spindly guitar notes. Bass lines still bounce like rubber. But this disc is a little less spastic than its predecessor. What to Say speaks to youthful verbal confusion, but in a soulful, Ritalin-free way. And if Lalonde isn't sure what words to use, Born Ruffians finds unique ways of presenting them.