Say It --My Impressions

I went out and bought 'Say It' by Born Ruffians, and I was pleased.
Songs like 'Come Back' have a new feel to them; different from Born Ruffians' older stuff, but still outstanding.
Luke's lyrics are just as autobiographical as ever, without being overly self-indulgent. And his vocals and guitar are just as mischievous as ever, cleverly playing off the bass and drums.
The album feels very natural, not over-produced or forced. And they still retain that playfulness that we all love, especially on songs like 'Blood, The Sun & Water', 'Retard Canard', and 'Oh Man'. These tracks also follow the band's tradition of wrapping darker lyrics up in catchy pop riffs and bouncy basslines.

I miss the call-and-response thing they used to do on tracks like Little Garçon, I Need A Life, and Barnacle Goose. And Say It seems to be lacking the foot-tapping jubilance delivered in songs like Hummingbird, Badonkadonkey, and Foxes Mate for Life. 'Nova Leigh' comes close, but it's not quite there. I was expecting to hear more songs along the lines of This Sentence Will Ruin/Save Your Life and Hedonistic Me. But that's really all I was slightly disappointed by on this album. The more I listen to it, the more I like it.

And the inner flaps have really cool poems that go along with the songs. Some use lyrics from the songs, some don't.

This album is different from Red Yellow & Blue in that the songs seem to fit together better. It feels less eclectic (but just as eccentric). At times it can be a challenge trying to unravel all of the musical references used. But it's a great album, that makes you excited to see what they'll come out with next. I can already envision a music video for 'What To Say'.

Album reviews get spread around with cavalier precocity - I'm not a music critic.