ALBUM REVIEW: Ruts DC – ElectrAcoustic Volume Two (Sosumi)
Two years after their first helping of acoustic versions of some of their best-loved songs, Ruts DC are back with Volume Two.
Segs Jennings on vocals and bass, Dave Ruffy on drums and Leigh Heggarty on guitar are just as good at playing their songs acoustically as unleashing their full-on punky reggae attack.
Where the first set, released during lockdown, was made up largely of Ruts classics and songs from their excellent 2016 album Music Must Destroy, this one takes a deeper delve.
Their most recent album, last year’s Counter Culture?, accounts for almost half the 13 tracks, and the fact they work so well acoustically is testament to the trio’s songwriting and musicianship.
Caught In The Killzone, Faces In The Sky, X-Ray Joy, Born Innocent, Poison Games and Cyclone are the new songs re-imagined here, but there’s plenty to enjoy for fans of old too.
Ruts songs Staring At The Rude Boys and Backbiter – the latter a hugely under-rated tune from 1979 debut album The Crack – are given the treatment, and the stripped-down arrangements show just how good they are.
The anti-heroin anthem Love In Vain is even more heartbreaking when done this way, and Mirror Smashed, Different View and Despondency from Ruts DC’s 1981 LP Animal Now sound better than ever.
ElectrAcoustic Volume Two is available direct from the band on CD or vinyl at their gigs or from their website HERE. If you’re a Ruts/Ruts DC fan it’s an essential addition to your collection. 8/10.
