“I am in love with this Born Ruffians track and video.” – Robin Hilton, NPR All Songs Considered on “Don’t Live Up”
“One of the greatest SXSW shows I ever saw was twitching, wailing Toronto combo Born Ruffians tucked into some tiny hole in the wall a few blocks from the festival’s main drag. Luke Lalonde and friends were a bomb going off that night, and on the lead single from upcoming RUFF, they recapture that energy.”
– Stereogum
“…charmingly wistful and twitchily rhythmic pop songs…” – Uncut 8/10
Born Ruffians share video to “(Eat Shit) We Did It”
Guitarist and vocalist Luke Lalonde says, “The song is very reactionary to something kind of shitty happening and the feeling of getting over it. It doesn’t have to be triumph, sometimes you just want to celebrate your ability to continue on in the face of any adversity. I think telling people to “eat shit” is a really obnoxious thing. It’s something you feel more than you actually say out loud. The song was always meant to be a bit funny. I think the video reflects the weird and funny nature of the song.” Director Roger Galvez says of the video, “We really focused on the “eat sh*t” part. The senseless and detached destruction of a basement party by a group of brainless guests seemed fitting for a song that expresses resentment and triumph over the unavoidable obstacles involved in “making it,” whatever that means to the viewer. A “f*ck yeah” sort of thing.”
Noisey premiered the video writing, “For some, the best part about victory is the sense of accomplishment you feel at proving to yourself that you’ve achieved something. For others the best part is rubbing that victory into the face of everyone who came in under you. Born Ruffians’ new video for “(Eat Sh*t) We Did It” leans towards the latter option, as the band throws a sloppy party for themselves complete with gluttony, homemade banners, and one finger salutes.”
Over four albums, Born Ruffians have developed a signature aesthetic that encompasses tightly wound, trapezoidal songs frothing over with hooks and wryly-cathartic lyrics. The group has garnered favorable comparisons to such quirky pop infiltrators as the Talking Heads, The Pixies and The Strokes. Onstage, the band is arousing and assaulting, coming off somewhere between a riot and a soul revue. Born Ruffians are Luke Lalonde (guitar/vocals), Mitch Derosier (bass), Andy Lloyd (guitar/keyboard) and Adam Hindle (drums).
RUFF was written in ebbs and flows: the origin of some tracks stretch back to 2013 and others came together in a matter of days, or in a single band practice. Jeff McMurrich (Jennifer Castle, The Constantines, Fucked Up) recorded RUFF in just three weeks in Toronto. The band’s trusted friend Rusty Santos (Animal Collective, Eric Copeland, Owen Pallett) – who produced their acclaimed album, Red, Yellow & Blue, and its follow up, Say It – mixed RUFF in New York.
RUFF stands as a poignant marriage of form, content and process that is without a doubt Born Ruffians’ most focused and mature work to date.
After a successful European tour, Born Ruffians are now heading out on their north American tour.
RUFF is out now on Yep Roc.
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