Critic Dustin Wilson  reviews Born Ruffians' second effort on Warp Records, "Say It." The Midland, Ontario pop trio is back with familiar bouncy bass lines and wayward puns to keep you smiling. Favorite track: "Blood, The Sun & Water".

Born Ruffians

Say It

Warp (2010)

On Say It, Born Ruffians' sophomore album, the Midland, Ontario pop trio is back with the same wayward puns - singer/guitarist Luke Lalonde belts out his wish to be a "Sole Brother" - along with bouncy bass lines and the vocal crackle and pop that will have you laughing along with them.

As always, a band's laurels are squarely rested on their sophomore album. Time and time again a band reaches their second album, and by their third release it's easier to be tossed into the hell of the bargain bin. Born Ruffians, though, are a clever bunch of fellows, always finding a way to be in the limelight. After their much lauded 2008 debut Red, Yellow and Blue they kept themselves busy by appearing as themselves in both the British drama Skins and on the web series Nirvana The Band The Show. Touring extensively as well, they covered most of Australia with Girl Talk, The Hold Steady and Architecture in Helsinki as part of St. Jerome's Laneway Festival.

The sound on Say It isn't too far a stretch from their first album. Much of their sound is still sparse and heavily dependent on Mitch DeRosier and drummer Steven Hamelin. Lalonde practically just chimes in with the clever line and some tiny plinking his guitar. On tracks like "Come Back" they've layered their sound with an easy going horn section that perhaps drove up from Motown, the horns filling in the gaps where Lalonde cries out "all that I worry/please baby hurry/come back to me right now". The up-tempo second single off the album, "What To Say," channels their south of the (U.S.) border brethren Vampire Weekend as they also drench themselves in the Soukous-pop scene. The best moment of the album is when you hear Lalonde baring his soul, really bringing it, on the introspective "Blood, The Sun & Water".

TAGS: Music