Ruby
Short-Staffed at the Gene Pool
Thirsty Ear
If you’ve heard the impossibly sexy single, “Grace,” you’ve got a really good idea of what to expect from the sophomore full-length from singer Lesley Rankine, better known as Ruby. The 11 tracks on Short-Staffed at the Gene Pool travel down the same dark, rain-swept streets traveled by the likes of Portishead, Everything But the Girl, and Björk (in her moodier moments), but have enough individual charm and originality to separate Ruby from the slew of acts imitating those incredibly influential acts. Highlights include the slinky “Beefheart,” the acid jazzy “Queen Of Denial,” the burbling, atmospheric “Waterside,” and the sleek “Lamplight,” but this is a solid album with no real low points, worth experiencing as a whole, making this a Pool worth diving into.
Thirsty Ear Recordings, Inc., 274 Madison Avenue, Suite 804, New York, NY 10016; http://www.thirstyear.com, http://www.rubymusic.co.uk
