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Avg: 4.0 (105 ratings)
- Date Released: April 17, 2007
- Genre: Alternative/Punk
- Style: Alternative
- Label: Hidden Agenda Records
A stunning debut of alt-gothic country.
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We Say...
It could be argued that the best songs are born of troubled relationships — a fact fully supported by the harrowing debut from the Chicago group New Ruins. Witness: chief Ruiners Elzie Sexton and J. Caleb Means have known each other for over a decade now, first crossing paths at age 15 and together weathering punk phases and folk phases and finally coming out the other side weathered and jaded. New Ruins was born while its members were in college — two different colleges, separated by 600 miles (that's where the "troubled" comes in). Sexton and Means exchanged tapes via the mail and met on breaks to write and record and collaborate, knowing that all good relationships require dedication to overcome problem spots.
Fortunately, The Sound They Make was worth the effort it took to create it. In eleven songs of grim, ravaged beauty, New Ruins recall the National and American Music Club and Grant Lee Buffalo without copying any of them outright. Both Sexton and Means have deep, dire baritones, and their songs are invaded by a kind of shadow and sorrow that bleeds into even the up-tempo numbers: "Ships" is propelled by a rocketing tempo and ragged guitars, but the morose vocal keeps repeating "holes in our ships."
"Book Lung" rattles like a bum carburetor, cacophonous percussion and a low, groaning cello guiding the song to its ominous concluding refrain: "Your ghost still walks all around these hills." It's that sentiment that best sums up The Sound They Make: snapshots of spirits floating through places in time, half-remembered memories of people loved and forgotten. The record feels like a scrapbook, its minor-key strumming and lowing strings as brittle and yellowed as aging oak pages. And that's where that foundational relationship becomes an asset: Sexton and Means disappear into each other, twin voices that help each other sort out the photographs, piece through the details and create new fictions. Their characters occupy the empty space between desperation and resignation. With friends like these, who needs memories? -
They Say...
New Ruins describe their music as "Small Town Midwestern Gothic," and that summary is good enough that Elzie Sexton and J. Caleb Means, the two musicians who comprise the group, ought to consider rock journalism as a sideline. While New Ruins' first album, The Sound They Make, is brimming with pop hooks and hummable melody lines, an air of malaise permeates these 11 songs, and while this isn't the typical gloom-struck synth wailing one usually associates with the word "goth," the simple organic approach of this music (with acoustic guitars often high in the mix) generates a compelling and evocative unease all its own. Sexton and Means originally launched New Ruins as a home recording project, and there's a modesty to their production and arrangements that suits the songs quite well; the open spaces in the arrangement on "Flowers" allows the refrain of "I've been in this town so long" to take on a weariness it might not have generated otherwise, the low-tech synthesizer on "Records" adds a very real charm as it floats over the simple percussion beds, and the drowsy vocals and insistent guitars of "Attic" suggest Dinosaur Jr. trying to be quiet for the benefit of their neighbors. While the material on The Sound They Make gets a bit samey by the end of the last track, the album also generates a tonal and thematic unity that adds to its power -- New Ruins manage to make music that sounds both sad and pretty without seeming self-indulgent, and their moody palette is both imaginative and absorbing. It's an impressive debut, though one hopes New Ruins have the sense not to stray too far from the concision that makes The Sound They Make so memorable.
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| 01. |  |
Ships |
2:37 |
|
| 02. | |
Nameless |
3:02 |
|
| 03. | |
Flowers |
3:10 |
|
| 04. | |
Book Lung |
3:48 |
|
| 05. | |
Records |
2:19 |
|
| 06. | |
I'll Sleep in Your House |
2:31 |
|
| 07. | |
Monuments |
2:58 |
|
| 08. | |
Attic |
3:02 |
|
| 09. | |
Outside |
3:48 |
|
| 10. | |
A Scribble |
3:03 |
|
| 11. | |
Run Up the Walls |
4:02 |
|
11 Total Tracks, 34:20 Total Length
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Credits
- Adam Schmitt - Mastering // Elzie Sexton - Bass // Elzie Sexton - Guitar // Elzie Sexton - Keyboards // Elzie Sexton - Vocals // Elzie Sexton - Artwork // Elzie Sexton - Design // Elzie Sexton - Group Member // J. Caleb Means - Bass // J. Caleb Means - Guitar // J. Caleb Means - Drums // J. Caleb Means - Vocals // J. Caleb Means - Group Member
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