The Ruby Suns - Tane Mahuta
Published Tuesday, 15th January, 2008 at 5:45 PM
I don't think anyone could have predicted the change in direction for New Zealand's The Ruby Suns in just one album.
The band's self-titled debut was a beautiful collection of breezy Sunshine pop and vocal harmonies, somewhere between The Beach Boys and Joy Zipper. Yet on album number 2 - Sea Lion, the characteristics of their first effort are nowhere to be seen, if this MP3 of album track Tane Mahuta is to be believed.
As we discussed in this news article recently, the new material was "intended to be a world music album, but reverb and psychedelic pop crept in to create a unique mixture of exotic sounds, accomplished with an impressive array of instruments."
The group have definitely achieved their aims with this one, as Tane Mahuta is an instrumental built-up of shakers and dense layers of unusual percussion, ethnic vocals, accordians and plucked string instruments like the Animal Collective if they recorded their next album in the rainforest.
They still have their way with melody and if truth be told, the band are much more at home pushing out the boat and toying with new ideas, than rehashing the work of their influences like Brian Wilson and Co.
The Tane Mahuta MP3 link is here, or have a listen to the stream:
