The music of New Zealand's Tiny Ruins engages on multiple levels. Most notably, there is, obviously, the appeal of the warm tones of Hollie Fullbrook's voice. The band's music veers between understated folk-influced indie, and slightly more ornate material. Ceremony, the outfit's new one on Ba Da Bing this week, offers a good selection of the varied charms of this group.
"Driving & Soaring" finds Fullbrook sounding remarkably like Sandy Denny, while "Out of Phase" adds a rhythmic undercurrent to another tune in a smiliar vein. Tiny Ruins favor a languid, graceful form of rock, with lots of Ceremony having an autumnal vibe to it. Where the band really charms is on the more elegant or upbeat numbers. "In Light of Everything" has a jauntiness to it that renders it a sunny affair, while "Sounds Like" is more forceful still. The musical flavors here are relatively mellow, but there's a roiling force to selections like this that suggests something that's about to be held back. The emotional effect is one that other artists mining this territory are not able to achieve. Closer "The Crab/Waterbaby", with its string snatches, is a real highlight here, and while I wish there was more on Ceremony just like this one, I found the whole album fairly compelling.
Ceremony by Tiny Ruins is out on Friday via Ba Da Bing Records.
[Photo:Frances Carter]