Review Summary: between futures
We’re gearing up for another autumn here in the American Midwest; after bracing an unrelenting heat wave a few short weeks ago, the molecules in the air have pumped the brakes a considerable amount, so much so that the cold now nips at your heels and the leaves have begun to lose their circulation. Make no mistake, fall beauty is undeniable, as is the gradually encroaching darkness that accompanies it. Almost overnight, the nine-to-fivers of the world will find themselves rising before the sun and unable to catch up to it and bask in its light before they return home. As the nights get longer and make further inroads into our minds and hearts, it becomes imperative to locate a source of warmth for the frigid months ahead. Ruby Haunt are a predictable duo, and I say that in the least derogatory way possible. Since the mid-2010s, they have become as perennial and reliable as an anticipatory summer frost. Wyatt Innins and Viktor Pakpour are not just prepared year in and year out to pen the annual soundtrack of wintry gloom and nostalgia, but eager to consistently deliver a premium product.
Between Heavens is no exception, quietly blossoming into existence as another satisfying entry in the now extensive Ruby Haunt catalog.
As previously indicated by 2022’s
Cures For Opposites, the band’s newest effort sees them settling into a vibe that is noticeably more glacial and decidedly more synth-led, but just as scenic as their output has always aimed to be. As the twosome draws back the curtain of the record with the title track, an ethereal keyboard line reminiscent of the late Angelo Badalamenti sets the tone before a propulsive drum loop introduces listeners to the core juxtaposition at the heart of
Between Heavens; while it has a consistent tendency to sound like Ruby Haunt’s most downcast record yet, it is also capable of being their most energetic, and is even…
dancy at times? Just take a track like “Rainbird” at face value, a cut whose sunny disposition is jarring in album context and shamelessly wears its UK garage influence on its sleeve through its syncopated drums and hypnotic vocal chop. Sandwich a track like that between the icy “Cold Front” and elegiac piano ballad “Dizzy”, and you’ve got yourself a gem that sticks out like a sore thumb in the most commendable of ways.
Eight full-lengths in, this is exactly what I want to see; Ruby Haunt taking risks. A song like “Rainbird” is still unmistakably Ruby Haunt, despite its stylistic meanderings from the group’s usual formula. The tracks that don’t succeed on
Between Heavens are those which cower in fear of change and attempt to fall in line with everything that has preceded them. Previously released single “Nightjar” comes to mind here, a wisp of sweet nothing that has now gone in my left ear and out my right six or seven times without making a single noteworthy impression. Ruby Haunt clearly understands marketing and their niche as a group, but I still find myself disappointed that they would play the promotional aspect of their music so safely by choosing this pedestrian number to represent their new collection of work. That being said, it looks like
Casablanca compared to the
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen that is “Dark Start”. To call this song a slog would be an understatement; both musically and lyrically, it resembles an unrelated songwriter desperately attempting to imitate Ruby Haunt’s style and failing.
If this says anything about the state of Ruby Haunt in 2023, it’s that continued experimentation will yield high quality artistic expression. Not everything has to sound brand new or out of left field; tracks like “Flood”, “Fallen Air” or the title track prove this, sticking loyally to the Ruby Haunt formula while adding just enough wrinkles and layers to their structures to give themselves their own distinct identity. As a creative entity, Ruby Haunt has gained enough credibility and recognition to now have
their own distinct identity as artists; what they will choose to do with it remains to be seen. On
Between Heavens, the duo offers moments of soothing emotional nostalgia next to moments of uncertain stagnation, finding themselves at a fork in the road. Only time will tell which direction the band chooses to pursue as the days go by, and we begin to prepare for Ruby Haunt’s inevitable 2024 release.
