For its first full-length, Canadian band Born
Ruffians deliberately avoided fleshing out what could've been a simple Strokes
rip-off by exploring simpler sounds with producer Rusty Santos (Grizzly Bear,
Panda Bear, possibly other bears). After the title track's faux-martial intro,
"Barnacle Goose" offers the first animal fake-out: A spare intro, with guitar
chords once per measure, refuses to develop into the expected jangle. Instead,
as with the rest of the disc, it's consciously underproduced: The bass is just
as quiet as the guitar, and the drums are just as likely to rap the rim as
utilize the whole kit. There are more anemic animals, too: "Foxes Mate For
Life" is the token lament over modern romantic problems, while "Red Elephant"
acts, per convention, as the epic closer. The highlight comes via the yelped
call-and-response of "I Need A Life," whose lyric—"but we go out at
night"—will hopefully lead Born Ruffians to a club where they can play loud
and fill in the perversely missing spaces.