One Track Mind

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Listening to New Ruins, you can practically see your boots getting dustier. The Illinois quintet’s sophomore record, We Make Our Own Bad Luck, flirts heavily with canyon rock elements without ever crossing the rubicon into Americana or alt-country. Instead, as on “Lake,” the twang only functions as an enhancement to the overall sound, complemented by the smoky vocals that (for this listener, at least) call to mind the hurtin’ voice of one J Mascis. It is the intersection of these two textures that makes this song such a good listen.

With its distorted opening notes, “Lake” does seem to promise a little more edge than it winds up delivering, but that may be for the best; its slide guitars and strings prove to be more winsome than a wall of noise, and the pedals still get pushed during the song’s back end. My sole complaint here would be that, while the song makes for an enjoyable, engaging listen through repeated trips, it does lack a certain distinguishing thrust that would make it more memorable.

That aside, this is a strong piece of songwriting from a band that has yet to receive their due. Here’s hoping “Lake” clues in a few more listeners.