Artist: Ruiz
Label: Geenger Records
Release: 2011
Duration: 34:21
Rating: 4.7/5
Plenty of people have dubbed them Croatia’s biggest indie hope. Others heard in Ruiz the grunge kings Nirvana, with the Foo Fighters follow-up being a given, while still others got hooked on them because of the echoes of QOTSA and At The Drive In. It was precisely those ties to indie rock’s top league, plus the primal genetic code of garage, that got my ears and eyes tuned in to this Croatian export, and after Ruiz’s second album the recipe stays the same – rebellion to the bitter end, with the revolution sown straight out of a home studio stationed in the garage. It may also be a refuge, but the fact that, with rampant pirated software, cheap recording gear and ever-rising quality standards, we can only expect things to get better is great news for lovers of adrenaline-fueled noise. The quality of the recordings is one thing, the content is another, so enjoying what’s served up takes tolerance, patience and above all a pinch of critical thinking.
It was in just this kind of cheap but by no means low-quality studio that the Zagreb alternative power trio Ruiz forged and recorded their second album, a steel-plated threesome made up of vocalist and guitarist Tomislav Šnidarić, bassist and occasional keyboardist Marko Kalčić and drummer Janko Kezele. Ruiz Radio Revolution is no purist, monochrome outpouring of anemic music. Ruiz don’t draw from just one wellspring of inspiration either, so what you get on the record is high-octane indie rock, grunge fragments and stoner, while the promised artistry of the notorious noise masters At The Drive in comes back, filtered, into the bloodstream of alternative fans through a punchiness that never lures the minimalist lineup onto a pointless bashing detour. From the very first chords of the hyper-energetic Go Go Go, which plows into your ear canals with the power and rawness of Iggy Pop in his prime, these youngsters give themselves no time to rest, or to indulge in l’art pour l’art outpourings of the incomprehensible. Sweat pours in streams, Ruiz sing about saving the soul and punch on with the indie standard You Decide. Tomislav clearly took his vocal lessons from the late Kurt, and right away the whole thing also gets woven through with the smell, the rhythms and the sonic approach of those legendary riders of the smoky apocalypse, stoner provocateurs Queens Of The Stone Age. Good! Not good, but excellent, we could add! And if I also mention that the guys, unburdened by style or anyone’s expectations, are as tight as transistors nicely warmed up to perfect operating temperature, then the heart and solidity of this musical construct are the best send-off for a half-hour trip to the land of pleasure. Hey! I Can’t! is a track that could fill the gaps on the record Incesticide with a clear conscience, and the heart foams over even more at the sounds of Come On Baby, which has something dirty, gorgeous and fun all at once, and the mosaic gets completed by Eagles Of Death Metal and, yes, spot on, the melodic influence of Josh Homa and the Stone Age soldiery of hairy backing queens. The dirty production isn’t for those who long to hear a fly’s fart ten mountains away even at half volume, because Ruiz are made for cranking the knobs and testing the endurance of your eardrums. The atmosphere is varied, yet I somehow struggle to accept that it all goes down so easily and so sweetly on the first spin, even though there are more deliberate missteps and shifts from cruising speed into higher revs than on your average record. Whatever Forever, despite its excellent timing, somehow gets lost in the mass of good, filling noise with a point. Noise with rhyme and reason. The grunge-and-stoner volley continues with Soul To Soul, while the unbridled and, in its own danceable way, special Hello God shines like a diamond on a string of nicely polished gems. As for the hipster dance standard Radiostar, danceable as it is, I’d almost skip it, but since at heart I’m closer to hard-hitting stoner these days, my ear butter started sizzling at the shockwaves of Pilgrim Song, and the placebo effect of So Around You doesn’t lag behind either, nor does the closer, a burst of garage playfulness called Now I Wanna Be You.
There’s no shortage of favorites, and Ruiz made sure the excellence comes in just the right dose of music without a single flaw. The fact that this Croatian trio, with a bipolar musical compass, is out to conquer the world, and the ears and souls of the already devoted fans of out-of-the-ordinary garage, is a delight. That’s exactly why I wouldn’t be surprised if somewhere in our neck of the woods someone took up the challenge and proved that instead of the latest Audi or Mercedes, you’re better off with a drum kit, Marshall boxes of noisy pleasure, a bass and guitars in the garage, and showed the neighbors that we can weave something this great ourselves too. I have no doubt we can, since a few bright exceptions have already proven it, but alas, there are more of those who have a wallet where their heart should be. Luckily Ruiz aren’t like that, and Ruiz Radio Revolution proves that where there’s a will, there’s a way, and that music, no matter the square footage of the garage, knows no borders, my dears!
Lineup
Tomislav Šnidarić – vocals, guitar, keyboards, handclaps
Marko Kalčić – bass, vocals, keyboards, percussion, handclaps
Janko Kezele – drums, percussion, vocals, handclaps
Production
Ruiz
Tracklist
- Go Go Go
- You Decide
- Hey! I Can’t!
- Come On Baby
- Let’s Make A Sound
- Whatever Forever
- Soul To Soul
- Hello God
- Pilgrim Song
- Radiostar
- So Around You
- Now I Wanna Be You
