Born Ruffians Debut New Songs to Close Canadian Music Fest

Posted on Mar 15th 2010 10:30AM by Drew Berner
Comments

Toronto indie buzz band Born Ruffians may have dropped off the radar after riding a wave of hype back in 2008, but clearly their hometown fans were patiently waiting for their return.

On the eve of their trip SXSW, the band played a Canadian Music Week / Canadian Music Fest-closing set at the Toronto's Phoenix Concert Theatre on Sunday night. It was a momentous evening for the band: they were debuting a handful of brand-new tunes and unveiling a new keyboardist/second guitarist in their live lineup.

The size of the crowd wasn't particularly surprising, but its composition -- predominantly girls barely out of high-school -- and fervour were unexpected. Every familiar song was greeted with shrieks of delight, while the newer tunes -- the band's sophomore album, 'Say It,' hits the streets on June 1 -- drew squeals of anticipation.

At one point the mid-sized venue could have easily been mistaken for a high-school auditorium as the band slipped into a slower number while someone fired-up an old disco ball and couples took to slow-dancing.

The band invites easy comparisons to Vampire Weekend, as singer Luke LaLonde's vocal delivery is similar to VW frontman Ezra Koenig's and the two groups share a few influences. But Born Ruffians have toned down the youthful recklessness just enough to separate them from their Billboard-topping contemporaries.

Born Ruffians were tapped by many music pundits to be one of the next big things in 2007 and 2008, booking tours opening for the likes of Hot Chip, Franz Ferdinand and Peter, Bjorn and John. But fame wasn't won as easily as those pundits predicted, and after spending more than a year taking their quirky tunes around the world their buzz had cooled.

But their new batch of songs, which maintains LaLonde's yips and yelps but carries a feeling of much-needed maturity, ensures Born Ruffians are ready to be taken seriously.