Luke Lalonde

Solo ventures are always the product of songwriters that have an abundance of ideas outside of their regular gig. On his downtime from Toronto, ON indie-pop band Born Ruffians, lead singer Luke Lalonde has spent the past two years compiling other tracks for his solo debut, Rhythymnals. Lalonde successfully carves out a new sound from his day job and it's safe to say that majority of these tracks would never make it as Born Ruffians numbers, but there are pros and cons to this. Rhythymnals would've benefited more as an EP, trimming many of the excess tracks that stretch out the album into sleepy territory, such as the repetitive "Shove Off" and "Wave," which kicks off with Lalonde's uncomfortable attempt at singing baritone and then plateaus for most of its almost six-minute run. Even the most promising tracks on Rhythymnals, like saccharine single "Undone," weren't pushed far enough to leave a mark, but this isn't to say Lalonde isn't a great songwriter with plenty of ideas. It's just that most of the ones on this album, unfortunately, aren't developed into anything substantial. Alas, these are the trials and errors of every musician and it might be a miss today, but Lalonde is destined for many hits tomorrow.