(label)
27 October 2018 (released)
27 October 2018
Originally for Leicester but now based in Manchester, Demons Of Ruby Mae are duo Jonny Gavin and Adam Rowley.
October 26th sees the release of their self-titled debut album. Having announced themselves to the world a couple of years back with the much loved, much hyped, and much ‘you’ll have probably heard this on a TV advert’ release of the single ‘Summer Nights’, they now treat us to their full 9-track debut album.
Starting with the atmospheric ‘Intro’, their debut is an engaging triumph from beginning to end. Filled with glossy pop hooks, flashes of electronic wonder, occasional towering synths, and echoing guitar lines, from the anthemic ‘To Be Adored’ all the way through to the closing piano ballad ‘Someday’, they managed to straddle the divide between pure pop extacy and electronic experimentation impeccably.
Positioned at the album centre point, ‘Young Blood’ remains the highpoint in the Demons Of Ruby Mae catalogue. It’s a track that teleports you into an intoxicating, psychedelic world of hypnotic, dream-like synths and heart-tugging vocals.
But that’s not to say they’re a one-trick pony. ‘What Is Now’ has an echoing intensity that brings to mind Depeche Mode, previous single ‘Synesthesia’ and it’s thunderous synth-line is a ear-drum pleasing highlight, and the above mentioned ‘Someday’ is the perfect closing track; building from a piano-led intro to a rousing, fist-in-the-air chorus, and back down to just piano and vocals in the space of 4 minutes.
The fact that parts of this album were co-written with Grammy, Brit and Ivor Novello-winning James Sanger (known for his previous work with acts such as Keane, Faithless and Brian Eno) makes perfect sense. There is timelessness to it. An air of huge self-confident. A feeling that you’ll be hearing these tracks coming from radio sets, TV ads and film soundtracks for years to come.
