Music Review: The Ruby Suns, “Sea Lion” (Sub Pop) * * *
Ryan McPhun of The Ruby Suns is part of a rich tradition of basement auteurs, musicians who take Brian Wilson’s sandbox aesthetic as an article of faith. As such, The Ruby Suns’ “Sea Lion” is not exactly a band project. McPhun invited several of his friends down to his New Zealand underground studio to record a collection of psychedelic exotica, and the result is as intoxicating as a Scorpion drink at Trader Vic’s.
“Sea Lion” begins beautifully with “Blue Penguin,” a shambling mosaic of found sounds, rich South Pacific choir singing and cargo cult rhythms, and it blends nicely with the mariachi textures of “Oh Mojave” and the gorgeous Maori singing and drunk-sounding horns on “Tane Mahuta.” McPhun seems to be having great fun stitching together seemingly disparate cultures on “Sea Lion,” and his one-world aesthetic never sounds contrived or overly academic.
Having toured and played with The Brunettes, McPhun called in a favor from that band’s Heather Mansfield, who contributes honeyed vocals and clarinet to the disc’s most beautiful track, “Remember.” It is a Wilson tribute every bit as breathtaking as recent recordings by Panda Bear or the Besnard Lakes, and it works nicely with McPhun’s soaring “Phil Spector in Africa” pastiche, “Kenya Dig It.” “Sea Lion” is a world tour worth taking, and The Ruby Suns hit all the right ports of call.
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