Tape Review â Ruby Buff "Insufficient Funs"
First and foremost, before I even get into the review, Ruby Buffâs âInsufficient Funsâ is MANDATORY LISTENING! Iâve known their bass player Mat for a number of years and even played in a band with him for a short while. Knowing that he can play any instrument to a high degree of talent, itâs really refreshing to see that heâs in a band with dudes that are his equals in every facet! Even down to being super awesome dudes! Itâs also really awesome to see Mat back on bass as well!
So when I got my hands on this tape, I through it in my deck and was completely blown away by a number of aspects. First off the quality of the recording is perfect, which came as no surprise because I know Mat records and mixes bands quite frequently. Then next is the actual song composition. Every song has twists and turns in an off beat kind of way, but maintains a degree of total listenability that Iâve yet to hear any other band in the scene accomplish as seamless as these guys have. Finally, the overall energy of this tape is absolutely captivating at an unbelievable level. Every song is different and catchy in itâs own way as well as just completely great and fun at the same time! Their mix of power-pop, Indie punk rock is, in a word, perfect.
The album starts off with âBikeâ which has some jangly guitar, amazing bass lines and steady drumming that just kills! Itâs all about how dudes love girls who ride bikes. Itâs light heartedness and overall fun progression opens this tape in a seriously awesome way!  Next up is âTotally Downâ which channels a higher energy, indie punk side of their sound. Fast paced and slightly more aggressive with some low end vocals which are the stand out part of this song until about 1:50 when a sick guitar lead comes in to close out the song. âJudeeâ brings back the power pop vibe in full force. If your head isnât nodding to the beat of this song you probably are dead inside. Iâm going to say everything about this song is awesome, but in all reality Iâm probably going to just get it out of the way and say it about all of the tracks on this tape! With about as much force that comes out of this band, âLandmineâ has some serious power behind it! Again the vocals just fucking kill on this track! The infectious hook after hook after hook of this song is almost so catchy it pisses me off as to how great this song is. The contrast between the bass and guitar on this track has an almost call and response feel to it as well. âSingle Livin'â slows things down initially, but quickly picks it up at the end of the song. While itâs only 0:51 long itâs still as sick as the rest of the tracks. Finally, âDouble Livin'â pulls out the harmonies, sick riffs and a straight ahead progression that is catchy, awesome, blah blah blah you get it⌠THIS TAPE KILLS IT AT EVERY TURN! Sorry for being so redundant and saying everything is so killer about this tape, but one listen and Iâm sure if youâre a fan of indie power pop youâll be elated by these 6 tracks. Also the guitar lead at the end of the last track is so sick! (again sorry for repeating myself.)
So, yeah, I donât have to write any more about this tape. Itâs awesome, youâll love it and if you donât you probably hate fun and love living miserably. They just got back from tour and their next show is going to be at The Pharmacy with King Azaz and Penetrode! That bill sounds fucking amazing! It looks like the only way to get your hands on a copy of âInsufficient Funsâ is by getting out to that gig and getting one there. For those of you whoâre cheap you can just press play below and listen the way any good broke punk would. So get stoked on Ruby Buffâs new tape, get out to that show next Monday and stream this ep for the rest of the day!