Review Summary: Untouched by everything
It’s easy to pass off
Blinking in the Wind as a disappointment. Ruby Haunt have never been the most experimental or even, you know, energetic of bands, but this new record might just be their sleepiest (and dare I say, boring-est?) yet. While 2023’s
Between Heavens showed the duo flirting with bubblier electronic textures (“Rainbird”) and more shoegaze-infused dream pop (“Ornament”), these relative-capital-r experimentations are nowhere to be found here. In essence, this album finds Ruby Haunt on autopilot, cranking out nine fairly short tracks of introverted, shimmery slowcore.
While there’s a fair amount of truth in that first paragraph’s negative framing, with this album ultimately not living up to the laudable standards of Ruby Haunt’s clockwork-reliable output of the last half-decade plus, this review will largely take a positive perspective. After all, we writers are Sunnyvale and JesperL of Sputnikmusic fame: eternal defenders of this wonderful little band. To the ramparts!
Things are rather intense right now. Whether on a personal, local, or global level, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t agree with that. Ruby Haunt have never been intense - if anything, they’ve provided nothing but sheer comfort during their music-making career. As a soothing balm in a world gone mad, then, it’s incredibly pleasant to hear Wyatt Ininns’ whispery vocals over some sublime instrumentals yet again. There’s something inherently comforting about the band’s music, no matter how unremarkable.
Indeed, even if the songs largely aren’t highlights of the Ruby Haunt oeuvre, the duo has never sounded more reflective. These tunes might function well as sleep aids, but they’re equally effective as companions for contemplation, and sound pretty darn pretty while they’re at it. The bookends here, in particular, are remarkably lovely in their nonchalant way: “Sunfish” blends the subtlest yet catchiest synth melody with sparkling acoustic guitars, while “Twice Around” represents the most sad-yeehaw-emoji the band have sounded since
Blue Hour. In essence, it’s all perfectly pleasant and entirely reassuring that pure calm still exists out there, somewhere.
So yeah,
Blinking in the Wind isn’t likely to set even the little world of Ruby Haunt aficionados on fire, but that doesn’t mean the duo’s retreat into ever-more-sedate climes isn’t without its joys. Even if the album falls into the trap of homogeneity, it’s just about the best flavour of homogeneity one could hope for in this deeply unsettling and stressful world we live in.
