Squeeze

About

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, many people were hoarding toilet paper and Clorox wipes; Born Ruffians, on the other hand, were hoarding songs. <i>SQUEEZE</i> arrives just six months after its predecessor companion <i>JUICE</i>, and while the two were born from the same flood of inspiration, these songs aren’t just leftover pulpy bits. In sharp contrast to <i>JUICE</i>’s tightly wound energy, <i>SQUEEZE</i> finds the Toronto indie-rock trio unspooling and sprawling out in intriguing new directions: The opening “Sentimental Saddle” is a hit of desert-baked stoner jangle that dissolves into a pool of psychedelic textures, while “Waylaid” sees frontman Luke Lalonde engage in a dramatic duet with Hannah Georgas over endless ripples of glistening Cure guitars and an exhilarating motorik coda that sprints straight toward the sun. But the added layers of experimentation never obscure the Ruffians’ peculiar melodic charms: As the Paul McCartney-via-Mac DeMarco serenade “Leaning on You” proves, few bands could pull off a pickup line like “I pissed your name in the snow/’Cause I want you to know that I love you so much” and make it sound so sincere.

via Apple Music

The Clerk says

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