New Zealand based band (mostly the solo project of Ryan McPhun) continues to expand their joyful sound, this time with a move towards electronics. This is definitely an immersive experience with some excellent sonic texture. If you liked “Merriweather Post Pavilion” but wanted a little bit more in terms of [slightly more] conventional structure/killer hooks, this is a record for you. It’s an early-summer record, if you will.


The Ruby Suns, on “Fight Softly,” continue to develop an amazing balance between interesting sounds and pop-music chops and it continues to work wonders. There’s also a lot of great world-music influence here, so check it out!

PLAY ALL.

1++(Nice beat, chill); 2+(groove); 3++; 4+++(synth-y hook, tropical); 5 (loping); 6++(fun); 7+++(killer midsection, synth EXPLOSION); 8+(afro-pop guitars); 9++(neat percussion, build); 10+(title is “Olympics on Pot” for crying out loud!, great instrumentation/production)