Born Ruffians return to our ears and screens with their second full album in the form of ‘Say It’; a soul-filled, rock ‘n’ roll 10-track record bringing with it a slightly more mature and grown-up sound. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t the moody, change-of-sound second album you sometimes expect in the music industry, this is still as fun as the debut, with as many sing-a-longs, certain things have just been tweaked. Lead singer Luke LaLonde has developed a stronger voice and the band as a whole have taken a more rock ‘n’ roll approach to their music this time round, these two factors working charmingly together.
‘Say It’ bounces along with tracks of mixed pace and sounds resonating Vampire Weekend and early Kings Of Leon. The album features singles ‘What To Say’ and ‘Sole Brother’ – a track loosely about being an only child, and has a great feel-good vibe to it. The record is carried by some brilliant funk-dripped basslines, clean guitar tones and clever lyrics; “when I wake up I’m speaking slow/when I get drunk I’m speaking more/get too drunk and I don’t speak at all/get too close to you and I don’t know, oh, what to say.“
If I had a car, then I can see this definitely being a perfect driving record; easy sing-a-longs and a catchy rhythm section throughout.
Highlights on this record are ‘Higher and Higher’, with its cool instrument alternating fills. On first listen, it seems like a track that might just burn out and not go anywhere else but it builds up nicely to an uplifting ending. Other stand-out tracks are ‘Retard Canard’ with its slamming bass fill which comes in every so often, suitably indicating this albums funky element, and the stick-in-your-head lyric ‘I just wanna set the world on fire!’ In addition, opener ‘Oh Man’ is a great track, rumbling and creeping the album into action, along with track eight, ‘Nova Leigh’ with its simple, off-beat drumming throughout the song, which eventually develops and bursts the song into life over and over again. Great track.
The only hint of filler on this album is closing track ‘At Home Now’ which never seems to get going and sadly, leaves an otherwise solid record on a slightly weak note. However, in a musical age full of experimental and arty try-hards, Born Ruffians have put the fun back into rock ‘n’ roll.
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