The record is a rich and gloriously grubby collage of sounds. It stands somewhere between Pixies and Nirvana, with an added injection of psychedelic rock.
Artists can and should explore different plains, but Ruins sounds safe rather than bold. It sounds like Americana recorded in an air-conditioned studio.
Van Houten’s first and only studio album is flawed, for sure, but also profoundly personal. After 20+ years of mockery its reputation seems a tad unwarranted.
Reviews make a lot more sense when they can be put into context. After passing 150 albums reviewed we thought it was high time to look at the statistics.
Krafty Kuts and Chali 2na seem to lack conviction on this album, never attempting anything overly exciting, content with being serviceable.
The richest and most melodious harmonisations of four men since John, Mark, Luke, and Matthew collaborated on their bestselling project 2,000 years ago.