The fact that the Ruby Doe don’t have some big, corporate label kissing their asses by now just confirms for me that most of the big, corporate suits listen to music with their heads up their own asses. This local trio writes really catchy songs, shifting within one set between radio-ready, pop- layered rock and messier, D.C.-sounding punk. They have their shit together, and their prowess is far from being a Seattle secret--bands and club promoters alike sing their praises. Hopefully it’s just a matter of time before those kind words bring this talented act some label support.
- Jennifer Maerz, The Stranger
NEWS & REVIEWS
Math-rock? You're soaking in it. And you obviously want to—and when it comes to the Ruby Doe, whose bassist, Jesse Sea, and guitarist, Aaron Ellh, have been playing together for over a decade, who could blame you? We'll guess that the superb new Always With Wings, the band's third album, helped put them over the top this time around, but they've always been self-starters—two years ago, "Red Letters" garnered airplay on The End without an actual release. Anyone who can make herky-jerky time-signature changes sound like second nature, not to mention laden them with hooks, deserves your (and our) accolades.
- Michaelangelo Matos, Seattle Weekly Music Awards
The Ruby Doe, hailing from Seattle and on local label Loveless Records, have just entered a new realm of their career: the ‘great record’ stage.
- Three Imaginary Girls
B+. The pugilist in me wants to train to this album. Whether it be for the ring of the mean streets, these songs are for kicking ass. All 12 rounds on this full-length are relentless, heavyweight hitters that come at your ears with teeth like Mike Tyson. The guitar lines are straight power jabs with the feverish drums keeping a constant barrage of body blows. The combination proves to be powerful and subjugates the listener to the ropes where a 40-minute beating ensues. It’s the kind of punishment that you not only take, but you will want more.
- Shawn Telford.
If the curious title of their latest, Always With Wings, on Loveless Records, doesn’t clue you in (the maxi-pad reference can’t be unintentional, can it?), then one earful of the Ruby Doe’s multifaceted grinds will leave no doubt — this Seattle trio doesn’t just rock outside the boom box, they blow it to bits. Nearly all of Wings’ noisy nuggets — tunes like “Red Letters” and “Euphobia” — have a Motorhead/Judas Priest feel that’s intentionally grandiose but never quite crosses into Mulletville. Other tunes, like the ultra- harmonic title track (which, by the way, has nothing to do with feminine-hygiene products lyrically) and the crazy chorus-driven “Black Spots,” evoke a more stoner-rock kind of magnetism. Their fixation with odd signature changes and beat combos may have put ‘em on the map, but these days the Doe are obviously more enamored with metal mayhem than math rock. Luckily, it still adds up to some potent punk rock.
- Lina Lecaro, LA Weekly
**** The Ruby Doe are Seattle’s seamless, modest math rockers. ...the trio have locked into their strongest collection of songs yet. Always with Wings is an impressive indication of what years of dedication to the alchemy of sonic arithmetic will earn you--calculated twists and turns from the rhythm section, gradated shifts in guitar tones, and vocal abandon configured within an inch of losing control.
Produced by John Goodmanson, Wings simply sears, keeping the simmer control on slow-burning melodies that break sweats with rallying-call choruses. The standout “Red Letters”--a live set and KEXP favorite--is here, as is newer material that occasionally flirts with prog accents (“The Rising River”). Tracks like “Cutting Ties” and “Euphobia” recall, as did Ruby Doe’s earlier releases, a harder-edged Heatmiser and strains of D.C. punk. Overall, though, this is a no-frills, straight-shots-at-the-jugular rock band, as the menacing “That’s Not Love” makes all too clear. The Ruby Doe’s urgency is infectious, and here their fever is quickly spreading.
- Jennifer Maerz, The Stranger
This Seattle trio’s third album is an explosive combination of DC punk and metallic hard rock powered by taut guitar lines and an abundance of killer hooks.
- Don Yates, KEXP
We love the raw, unbridled energy of this band. Always With Wings is the first full length in three years to come from this Seattle band. Drawing comparisons to Muse, Fugazi and Hot Snakes, The Ruby Doe has grown from their math rock roots to incorporate catchy melodies with the power of urban punk. Look for them on tour as they work their asses off on the road in 2005.
- Indie Pulse
Good rock ‘n’ roll doesn’t have time to be timid. Just ask Seattle trio the Ruby Doe, a band that gets right to blowing out the speakers on its third album--“This is your hour/ It’s not your day, no,” wails guitarist Aaron Ellh on opening track “All These Good Deeds,” backed by a racket that distinctly sounds like a 747 taking flight. Fleshing out the spastic guitar rock of 1999’s The Flame and the Fury and 2001’s Dream Engine Blue with big whopping melodies like “1 A.M. in the Emergency Room” and the fuzzy-wuzzy “Black Spots,” the group has finally struck on the formula for post-punk gold.
- Aidin Vaziri, Amazon
The second album from this Seattle trio is an excellent concept album about sleep and dreams. They dig deep into punk/aggressive indie-rock and see what they can do with it. They’re able to do a lot.
- John Richards, KEXP
Math rock’s elusive definition alludes at least to the calculated reshaping of progressive influences like Rush and Yes in combination with punk energy that threatens to spin things out of control. Such a label offers more than enough latitude to adequately describe the songs of this tremendously creative, addictive band. On Dream Engine Blue, Seattle’s The Ruby Doe slam through musical barricades with undeniable energy. At times you’ll hear Fugazi, Arcwelder, Jawbox, and Volta Do Mar as well as Cheap Trick and The Ramones, but ultimately The Ruby Doe come up with their own answers and they definitely show their work.
- Don Elmore, thepaperthewebsite.com
I’d seen The Ruby Doe open for The Burning Brides, so I knew the riffs were driving and their vocals were ferocious. I was aware the Red Letters EP kicked as much ass in three songs as many a band can do in twelve, and that they delivered their Fugazi/Pixies/Helmet stew in a tight, precise fashion. I was not, however, aware that they would close out their set with a cover of Motorhead’s “Ace of Spades.” (Note: Covering “Ace of Spades” is very dangerous, because if you suck at it, everyone will know you’re just a bunch of pussies trying to fool us into rocking out with you. Second Note: The Ruby Doe fucking nailed it. The most jaded metalheads were pumping their fists. That cover was the rock cherry on top of the um, rock ice cream sundae which I ate with a rock spoon. . . okay, that metaphor is dead.)
- Graham Isaac, Nada Mucho
It takes a special kinda indie-rock band to follow-up the Cee-lo mayhem and our pre-set imaginary onstage banter while filling the minutes before the set {How many pirate jokes can one expectant crowd take? Ugh, we don’t wanna talk about it...}. The ever-sonorous Ruby Doe had the dubious distinction of “sharpest-transition-of-musical-styles-of-the-weekend” and pulled it off with great aplomb. The Ruby Doe pummeled us with their “Helmet-ized” no-nonsense rock for a good 50 minutes without pausing for a breath of air between songs. They seamlessly glided from one dense rock song to the next — with an effortless melding of harmony and testosterone, they nailed all the high hit points from their “Dream Engine Blue” release (hint: all the points are high ones on this release!). They ended the set with their immaculate signature cover of Motorhead’s “Ace of Spades.” I am ashamed to admit, The Ruby Doe had me singing the “Ace of Spades” for the remainder of the day. I finally stopped fighting it, gave in and proceeded to pull everyone down with me by getting it stuck in their heads too. In fact, as I’m typing this, it’s reinfecting my head.
- Three Imaginary Girls
The members of the Ruby Doe obviously grew up huge fans of the Who (circa ‘70s) and Cheap Trick, and are totally into playing rock and roll like it courses through their every vein.
- Kathleen Wilson, The Stranger
And now, the birth announcements: We’ve got two new kids in town--even if the first one’s just a figure of speech and the second one just a figure of syndication. The first? Well, let’s just say wave good-bye to math rock, kids, and bid a fond adieu to emo while you’re at it. There’s a fresh sound in town, and it’s harder than Tortoise, a tad more calculated than Trail of Dead. Heavier, more complicated genre, we christen you Long Division. Bands like Texas Instrument, Ruby Doe, and the latest incarnation of Juno are making the new math look easy. If you’d like to try this at home, just take some screwed-up time signatures, attach some amelodic lyrics and a churning, tumbling guitar (just one, please; long division bands are, for the most part, three-piece outfits), and hit the mean streets. Or at least Graceland.
- Leah Greenblatt, Seattle Weekly
Well, it seems I actually like every CD I’m reviewing this month - how embarrassing! Something’s gotta suck sooner or later, but it ain’t The Ruby Doe. These are local guys, apparently, who’ve been hiding themselves pretty well so far, at least from me. Their sound is churning, jarring, very intense, sort of arty, sort of metalliac, but also...catchy. They can probably walk and chew gum at the same time, too. Shit, where have you guy’s been?
- Samantha Zinn, Backfire Magazine
