The Ruby Suns - Fight Softly

Right now, the Ruby Suns’ career is a lot like Animal Collective’s on fast forward. By uprooting the earthy, campfire melodies of their early output in favour of synthesizers and artificiality, the Auckland-born outfit’s third album, Fight Softly, fast-tracks onto a fad that’s saturating the current indie landscape. The endless sprawls of water-board effects and glooping harmonies will no doubt resonate with electro-pop loving hipsters, but for those who’ve experienced the thrill of Ryan McPhun in full, unbridled flow this is a crushing disappointment. Percussively, it’s brimming with intelligent Tropicana beats that peak on Cranberry’s euphoric carousel ride. Yet, at their core, tracks like How Kids Fail and Dusty Fruit frequently meander into labouring psychedelic trances, induced by grating effects and tinny vocals. The sad thing is Fight Softly should have been the making of the Ruby Suns. Instead, they’ve chosen to hop aboard someone else’s bandwagon. [Billy Hamilton]