Born Ruffians Live Review
Audio, Brighton 23 November 2010
Tonight’s Born Ruffian gig begins in surreal Spinal Tap fashion: an over-enthusiastic smoke machine pumping out Laser Quest levels of fake fog, the band making several thwarted ventures out onto stage and then when they eventually make it out to play, the drummer proceeds to fall spectacularly from the stage.
Thankfully, all it takes is Sole Brother’s laid-back groove to settle the Canadians. Frontman Luke LaLonde delivers the first of many deliciously clean guitar lines and flexes those trademark vocals.
And things continue to get better as the Toronto four-piece set about distilling the headiness of youth into taut indie-pop songs. The bassist and now fully-recovered drummer thunder their way through the complex rhythms of new album, Say It, oozing confidence with each dynamic shift. The crowd responds by doing what young people should – make out, drink hard and jump around like they’re in a Blink 182 video.
Newbies Nova-Leigh and Oh Man may lack the inherent poppiness of old but have danceable beats and a frenetic pull suited to the excitable crowd. But for every Nova-Leigh, there’s a Higher & Higher – a meandering experiment that fails to offer anything tangible. On the other hand, Hummingbird and I Need A Life from Red, Yellow and Blue are so exuberant that it’s impossible not to feel at least young at heart.
The big hooks of their debut have been replaced with more complex and occasionally confused textures suggesting that Born Ruffians are growing up but definitely not old.