This week’s Song is brought to you by Luke Lalonde, frontman of the Canadian indie rock band, Born Ruffians.
Lalonde’s solo work—or the little bit we’ve heard so far—seems to strike a more contemplative, experimental chord than the jubilant rock of his day band and one that shows a great deal of musical depth from the artist. According to Lalonde:
“The ten-track album’s theme was originally centred around the notion of sound existing whether we do or not and our unique ability to interpret it and manipulate it. But in the end the album ended up sprawling outward to narratives about gender confused couples, a man who hates his boyish looks so he cuts his face up, long distance relationships and rejection.”
The album was written + recorded in his downtime from the band from early 2010 to this past spring largely in Lalonde’s home and is due out October 30th. You can pre-order the CD and limited-edition 180-gram white vinyl via Paper Bag Records and catch Born Ruffians next week as part of the 2012 CMJ Music Marathon at Brooklyn Bowl + Spike Hill. That last one’s a free showcase.
In the meantime, enjoy this week’s Song, “Undone”—a vocal-forward number that winds and weaves with head-noddingy rhythmic drums and plucky guitars until it hits a sweet pop hook chorus. If you like it, you can stream the album opener, “Grand (Rhythymnals),” on Paper Bag’s SoundCloud page.
Top photo by Sibilla Calzolari.
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