With the current, unprecedented times we are living in, it seems that what the world needs most is new content that feels lighthearted and hopeful.
Fear not, Born Ruffians have arrived just in time to save the day: Now 15 years into their career, indie rockers Luke Lalonde, Mitch DeRosier and Steve Hamelin look back on their early days in Toronto with fondness, but also position themselves eagerly toward the unpredictable future. Their 6th studio album, Juice, is electrifying and filled with a refreshing amount of optimism.
In opener "I Fall In Love Every Night," brass instruments blend with drums and guitar in an ode to reflecting on all the wonderful things in life and feeling happy at the end of the day. In the words of frontman Lalonde himself: "I'm feeling a renewed sense of love, not only in my relationships, but in the world in general. There is an overwhelming amount of love in the world, you just have to focus on it every once in a while."
Juice also has its moments of downright hilarity, and "The Poet" is a prime example of this, with its dreadfully simple yet self-aware lyrics: "I'm just a bad poet," Lalonde sings indifferently at the end of the song's chorus. The album's penultimate track, "Hazy Wave," is a disorienting minute and seventeen seconds, but it transitions smoothly into the final song, "Wavy Haze." Apart from ending the album on a reflective note, "Wavy Haze" also channels a symbolic meaning for the band, with the arrival of their own independent label of Canadian releases.
Despite being on the shorter side for an album release, Juice is carefully composed; it might not necessarily be a groundbreaking new release on the part of Born Ruffians, but speaks volumes in its playfulness nonetheless.
(Wavy Haze)Fear not, Born Ruffians have arrived just in time to save the day: Now 15 years into their career, indie rockers Luke Lalonde, Mitch DeRosier and Steve Hamelin look back on their early days in Toronto with fondness, but also position themselves eagerly toward the unpredictable future. Their 6th studio album, Juice, is electrifying and filled with a refreshing amount of optimism.
In opener "I Fall In Love Every Night," brass instruments blend with drums and guitar in an ode to reflecting on all the wonderful things in life and feeling happy at the end of the day. In the words of frontman Lalonde himself: "I'm feeling a renewed sense of love, not only in my relationships, but in the world in general. There is an overwhelming amount of love in the world, you just have to focus on it every once in a while."
Juice also has its moments of downright hilarity, and "The Poet" is a prime example of this, with its dreadfully simple yet self-aware lyrics: "I'm just a bad poet," Lalonde sings indifferently at the end of the song's chorus. The album's penultimate track, "Hazy Wave," is a disorienting minute and seventeen seconds, but it transitions smoothly into the final song, "Wavy Haze." Apart from ending the album on a reflective note, "Wavy Haze" also channels a symbolic meaning for the band, with the arrival of their own independent label of Canadian releases.
Despite being on the shorter side for an album release, Juice is carefully composed; it might not necessarily be a groundbreaking new release on the part of Born Ruffians, but speaks volumes in its playfulness nonetheless.