Ruby – Salt Peter – Review

Ruby

Salt Peter (Work/Creation)
by Joshua Brown

How do people react to the image of the strong female? Some, in fear and reproach; others, in encouragement and admiration. Ruby’s Lesley Rankine feeds off none of these things. She was the frontwoman for English altern-angst crunchers, Silverfish. In the end, she felt unsatisfied. I can relate because, to me, pure noise rock is often a transitional phase for musicians (no offense to the purists of the genre. Also, noise artists without the rock element, like Japan’s Merzbow, are not a part of the equation to which I refer). Generally, boredom forces the artist to find a more complex format of expression. Incorporation of the original drive into a different aesthetic makes the anger and frustration not only more potent, but also more resolvable and useable as a tool for self-improvement. Ruby takes the fearsomeness of Silverfish and plunks it into beautiful trip hop music. The effect is like fierce rubbing on soft genitalia.

Lesley Rankine’s back-of-the-throat purr/growl reminds one of Björk; while her swaying high-pitch feels like Portishead. What Ruby brings to the genre is a feeling of exertion which gives the listener a head rush. “Parrafin” is Salt Peter‘s first single and has made a strong showing in the club scene.