Lake Ruth are releasing a new EP on the German label Kleine Untergrund Schallplatten. The EP, Crying Everyone Else's Tears sees the band write music around lyrics from friend and non-band member Renee Tamraz. The words to these tunes strike a plaintive mood, one accentuated by the retro machinations of Lake Ruth. I suppose I should add that the disconnect between hearing lines from someone outside the band over top of the familiarly roiling hooks of this group is refreshing, and a new wrinkle in the evolving and reliable sonic methodology of these folks.
The current line-up of Lake Ruth -- Hewson Chen (The New Lines), Matt Schulz (SAVAK), and Allison Brice (The Eighteenth Day of May) -- has been expanded with the addition of René Dennis (The New Lines) and David Mason (Listening Center) in live settings. If anything, the addition of two more players in performances has made the Lake Ruth sound on record of the three members themselves seem richer and more expansive, even as things inevitably coalesce around the crystalline vocals of Brice. The languid "Sad Song", with its lyrical refrain "You'll live in my heart like a sad song", is direct and wonderfully straightforward, while the spry "Lonely Street" sees drummer Schulz really add a lot of energy to this kind of material. As such, the vibe here is more Broadcast and Can than Stereolab, a frequent touchstone for this band. Still, "Easy to Leave Me" is the sort of bouncy and catchy ramble that Laetitia Sadier would kill for in 2020, while the stately "Aging Now" is space rock, and perfect pop.
Lake Ruth have, as far as I can tell, never taken a misstep in their career. And, given how pristine and precise their brand of indie has been, one listens for variances in the familiarly wonderful sound. Here, on this EP, there's a lighter touch by Chen and Schulz, and it's a touch that owes a bit to jazz. I felt like I was hearing a very subtle expansion of the approach these players usually use, and a refinement of their artistry, even as Allison Brice reminds again why her strengths as a vocalist are wonderfully consistent, and capable of transporting a listener into another realm entirely. Even here, when singing someone else's words, for example.
Crying Everyone Else's Tears is being released via Kleine Untergrund Schallplatten.
More details on Lake Ruth via the band's official Facebook page.
[Photo: Lake Ruth]