It's been over two years since twitchy pop minimalists Born Ruffians released a full-length, but in an interview with Exclaim!, frontman Luke Lalonde reveals that the wait is almost over.
While speaking about his new solo effort Rhythymnals, Lalonde discussed how far along Born Ruffians are on their third LP. He says. "It's done! We got it mastered last week, and we're all happy with it."
The as-yet-untitled album is reportedly more pop-focused than their previous work, with the frontman revealing, "Every time we sit down to write new stuff, there's always a goal to make it bigger and better. Every song you write, you have to approach it thinking 'This is going to be the best song we've ever written,' so we're always trying to be our best. Of course, what you consider 'best' changes all the time, and on this record, what seemed best was to really try to get to the core of what's poppy about what we do, and try to emphasize that.
"[We wanted] to find the choruses, really set them up. We were conscious of structuring the songs in such a way that they were immediate. That's what we like in pop music: stuff you can get into right away, but that still leaves you with the weird shit we like, as well."
The record also apparently features cleaner, sharper production than that found on 2010 effort, Say It, and Rhythymnals left its mark on Lalonde and the band.
"This solo record had a big influence on me, as far as confidence in my production skills go. I've been working with [producer] Roger Leavens in a way that I hadn't really considered before. I was able to take stuff on my laptop that I'd recored at home, bring it to him, and not have to redo anything. I could leave my songs intact and mix it with him, who is better at that than I am. We remixed stuff that didn't sound good, and I carried those skills over to the Ruffians record.
"Every sound was more isolated, much cleaner. It sounds very modern, where Say It was almost an accidental lo-fi record; we went to an expensive studio, recorded everything to tape, live and really quickly. This record took us nine months to record, just making sure that everybody was happy with every aspect of every song. We shaped every song endlessly until it was done. That affects the overall sound of the record."
Pressed about a release date, Lalonde answers, "Maybe March, mid-March," though he maintains that the band don't want to rush it.
In the meantime, Lalonde's just released Rhythymnals through Paper Bag Records. Read about the album here.
While speaking about his new solo effort Rhythymnals, Lalonde discussed how far along Born Ruffians are on their third LP. He says. "It's done! We got it mastered last week, and we're all happy with it."
The as-yet-untitled album is reportedly more pop-focused than their previous work, with the frontman revealing, "Every time we sit down to write new stuff, there's always a goal to make it bigger and better. Every song you write, you have to approach it thinking 'This is going to be the best song we've ever written,' so we're always trying to be our best. Of course, what you consider 'best' changes all the time, and on this record, what seemed best was to really try to get to the core of what's poppy about what we do, and try to emphasize that.
"[We wanted] to find the choruses, really set them up. We were conscious of structuring the songs in such a way that they were immediate. That's what we like in pop music: stuff you can get into right away, but that still leaves you with the weird shit we like, as well."
The record also apparently features cleaner, sharper production than that found on 2010 effort, Say It, and Rhythymnals left its mark on Lalonde and the band.
"This solo record had a big influence on me, as far as confidence in my production skills go. I've been working with [producer] Roger Leavens in a way that I hadn't really considered before. I was able to take stuff on my laptop that I'd recored at home, bring it to him, and not have to redo anything. I could leave my songs intact and mix it with him, who is better at that than I am. We remixed stuff that didn't sound good, and I carried those skills over to the Ruffians record.
"Every sound was more isolated, much cleaner. It sounds very modern, where Say It was almost an accidental lo-fi record; we went to an expensive studio, recorded everything to tape, live and really quickly. This record took us nine months to record, just making sure that everybody was happy with every aspect of every song. We shaped every song endlessly until it was done. That affects the overall sound of the record."
Pressed about a release date, Lalonde answers, "Maybe March, mid-March," though he maintains that the band don't want to rush it.
In the meantime, Lalonde's just released Rhythymnals through Paper Bag Records. Read about the album here.