Ruby Red

by Crowmeat Bob Pence, Ryan Gustafson, Mike Dillon, The Love Language, Mark Paulson

Overview

Boasting a small army of musicians and a more velvety studio sheen, Stuart McLamb's third outing under the Love Language moniker finds the Raleigh, North Carolina-based indie rocker offering up a cacophonous set of psych-tinged, shoegaze-kissed, Spector-esque Appalachian garage jams that, according to their author, "were scrawled with lungs full of mountain air, colored with spilled wine, and seasoned with the drawbars of a thrift store organ and tape echo." It's an apt description, as the Merge-issued ten-track Ruby Red feels like it was built on a foundation of half-formed ideas that spontaneously (and explosively) evolved into fully functioning mini-epics during the recording process, resulting in something akin to a more focused GBV or a less strung-out Spiritualized. Festooned with hooks galore, heavier cuts like the propulsive opener "Calm Down," its bouncy twin sister "Kids," the lustrous "Faithbreaker," and the sultry and sanguine "First Shot" succeed not just through the simple science of volume, but because they take to their pummeling with such joie de vivre. Not content to cater only to the nosebleed section, McLamb and company fill the rest of Ruby Red with the kind of quirky, gossamer pop that should appeal to Merge loyalists, and while less immediate offerings like the dreamy "Golden Age," the languid and moody "Knots," and the tastefully ornate chamber pop closer "Pilot Light" may require a couple of extra spins before they begin to reveal their considerable charms, it hardly feels like a chore to do so. ~ James Christopher Monger

Product Details

Release Date:	07/23/2013
Label:	Merge
UPC:	0673855043616
Rank:	706

Tracks

1. Calm Down
2. Kids
3. Hi Life
4. First Shot
5. Golden Age
6. For Izzy
7. Faithbreaker
8. On Our Heels
9. Knots
10. Pilot Light

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Love Language   Primary Artist
Mark Paulson   Primary Artist
Jordan McLamb   Primary Artist
Mark Simonsen   Primary Artist
Stuart McLamb   Primary Artist
Melissa White   Primary Artist
Adam Hurlburt   Primary Artist
Mike Dillon   Primary Artist
Ryan Gustafson   Primary Artist
Crowmeat Bob Pence   Primary Artist
AJ Reynolds   Primary Artist
Tony Woodard   Primary Artist
Stacy Philpott   Primary Artist
Robin Tabbiner   Primary Artist
Justin Rodermond   Primary Artist
Dave Power   Primary Artist
Alexis Price   Primary Artist
David Mueller   Primary Artist
Rachel Rollins   Primary Artist
Rob Lackey   Primary Artist
BJ Burton   Primary Artist
Aaron Lane   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Jason Arthurs   Photography
Maria Rice   Mastering Assistant
Lara O'Brien   Model
Maggie Frost   Design
Tim Lytvinenko   Cover Photo
Thom Canova   Engineer
Brian Paulson   Mixing,Engineer
Jeff Lipton   Mastering
Mark Simonsen   Engineer
Stuart McLamb   Design,Composer,Producer
BJ Burton   Mixing,Engineer,Producer