Bands to Watch - Born Ruffians

The Bowery Ballroom played host Tuesday night to the Born Ruffians’ album release show. It was also host to a sold-out house of drunken 18-year-olds, but to be fair, these kids seemed to know their stuff. The four-piece band from Toronto is known for their upbeat rock characterized with sprawling, layered vocals. April 16^th marked the much anticipated release of their fourth album, Birthmarks.

In a recent interview, the band attributed much of the material on Birthmarks to their time spent in a farmhouse in rural Ontario. Their mecca was homage to the time they spent working on their sophomore album Red, Yellow and Blue when they were living in the same house, focusing entirely on their art and each other. 

Knowing this, I wasn’t surprised to sense a new air of maturity that was unfamiliar from the last time I saw Born Ruffians live (The Bell House, 2010). Don’t let their boyish looks deceive you. I noticed a marked growth in their performances as well as the music itself which has become more refined (though some jaded fans might say slightly overproduced) since Say It. The new songs on Birthmarks succeed, especially ballads like With Her Shadow that offers seasoned lyrics that you swear had come from someone much older and grizzled than the adorable curly-headed Luke LaLonde (you've got to love those French Canadian names).

Born Ruffians took the stage in front of a lighted backdrop designed to look like the Birthmarks’ cover art. The set was simple and offered no distraction to the fervent energy that the band musters while performing live. They started by quickly thanking the audience before launching right into Badonkadonkey, an older track off of their 2009 album Red, Yellow, Blue. This was a crowd pleaser, and within moments the audience erupted in tipsy revelry. Folks were ready to dance, spill beer on their neighbors and sing the lyrics loud and proud. Seriously, these intoxicated kids knew their stuff, like every freakin’ word! Color me impressed.

Four songs in, bass player/vocalist Mitch DeRosier announced, “Hey New York, our new album came out today, so we should play something new for you.” Yes you should, Mitch. They followed it up with some new tracks including the synch-tastic Too Soaked to Break, which calls out the album’s title in the second verse, “We’ve got matching birthmarks”. Front man Luke LaLonde’s soft, reverbed voice melted gently over Andy Lloyd’s trilling keyboard melody. This song is sexy as hell, and is just another example of how the band has found a deeper and more cultivated sound, further developed from the more rustic rock we’ve come to expect from them. 

They made it a point to play a variety of old and new material including Merry Little Fancy Things, a favorite for long time fans who have been listening since the release of their self-titled EP. “It took us a long time for us to get here. We’ve been writing for like three years, so thank you,” said DeRosier, before they finally closed out the show with their new single, Needle, a song that my friend is certain will be on several indie movie soundtracks by the end of this year. I agreed that it will be featured during a credits sequence on an episode of Girls next season, at the very least.

 I will note though that DeRosier is the only band member that did any crowd work, including accidentally throwing a tambourine across stage and hitting a girl right in the moneymaker. He asked “How’s your face?” and apologized as best as a shy Canadians could, before telling her to hit them up in the merch booth for some free stuff. I considered it a fair trade off.  LaLonde didn’t open his mouth once to address the audience during the show. Dude, your vocals are great but let’s be real, we’re here to see you! A little hello would have sufficed. Oh well, maybe next time, and the performance was lovely, so I’ll give the cutie a pass.

They returned with an energetic encore featuring older crowd craves, Little Garcon, and I Need A Life, before scooting off stage and probably on to celebrate over brewskies at their record release party. The Born Ruffians will be touring the U.S. through May with fellow Toronto based band, Moon King. Several tour dates remain to be rescheduled after their 5/11/13 show in Seattle, WA. For additional details be sure to check out http://bornruffians.com/.