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Ruby | Altered & Proud (The Short-Staffed Remixes)

CD, Wichita/Konkurrent

Tekst: Alex Tobin

Publicatiedatum: 21 augustus 2001

There's always been something a touch Björkian about Lesley Rankine. The parallels with the Icelandic princess of absurdist pop are obvious if you look closely: Both singers once fronted more conventional (and that's not saying much) "rock" bands (Silverfish in Rankine's case), both eventually left to embark on promising solo careers, and both eventually found their unique and wholly individual niche in the quasi-avantgarde regions of mainstream popular music. Like Björk, Rankine - taking on the performing guise of Ruby - likes to do things her own way. Her music is anything but conventional, often combining elements of jazzy nightclub soirées with droning industrial inflections, courtesy of co-songwriter and partner Mark Walk (also a producer for, among others, Skinny Puppy and KMFDM). 'Altered & Proud (The Short-Staffed Remixes)' treats us to eleven new sonic treatments of seven tracks previously recorded for Ruby's album 'Short-Staffed at the Gene Pool', released this past Spring and her first new collection of songs since 1995's 'Salt Peter' debut. Whereas she already presented an unusually beats-laden angle on 'Short-Staffed at the Gene Pool', these remixes provide us with an even clearer picture of just where and with whom Lesley Rankine has been hanging out lately. Dot Allison's reworking of 'Beefheart' kicks things off by sounding bouncy and ever-so-slightly 80s-retro, while 'Lilypad', refashioned by Kid 606, takes your inner ear canals and puts them through a blender. The sound is frantic and frenetic, the vocals little more than a background hum (The headphone treatment is highly recommended.). Bench's 'Lamplight' is a 100% pure funkified Everything But The Girl-style handclapping downtempo groove, polished off with tasty Nile Rodgers-like guitar work. C'est indeed chic... 'Queen of Denial', restyled by Chow, languishes atmospherically on top of a Groove Armada loop, replete with trumpets and tinkling pianos. Solid tracks to be sure (and that's just the first four), completely standing up as songs unto themselves and not just as artsy-fartsy remixed wanks by bedroom somnambulists, 'Altered & Proud (The Short-Staffed Remixes)' provides a welcome insight into Lesley Rankine's world and is a nice addition to her already interesting and diverse little oeuvre.

http://www.kindamuzik.net/recensie/ruby/altered-proud-the-short-staffed-remixes/766/
Meer Ruby op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/ruby