Say It (Born Ruffians album)

Last updated
Say It
Bornruffianssayit.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 1, 2010 (2010-06-01)
RecordedFall 2009
Canada at Metalworks Studios in Mississauga, Ontario
Genre Indie rock
Length38:41
Label Warp
Paper Bag Records
Producer Rusty Santos
Born Ruffians chronology
Red, Yellow & Blue
(2008)
Say It
(2010)
Birthmarks
(2013)

Say It is the second studio album by Canadian rock band Born Ruffians, released on June 1, 2010, by Paper Bag Records in Canada and Warp Records worldwide. [1]

Contents

The album was recorded in Toronto and mastered in Brooklyn. [2] The band’s first single off the album is “What to Say." [3]

Background

As Born Ruffians confirmed the upcoming release of the album, they announced their intentions for the new album: "If Born Ruffians’ 2008 debut album Red Yellow and Blue was the result of a talented and precocious gang of freshmen, their 2010 follow-up, Say It, would be the project they left school to finish — a declaration that they’re smart and ambitious enough to make it on their own, and furthermore, that they’re in it for the long haul." [4] Of hopes for the album, Luke Lalonde said, “We don’t want to leave little mistakes on, we want to make it sound pretty clean and pop-music friendly. We’re trying to make a hit record but in the most genuine way-- We just want it to sound like us live … but better.” [5]

Name

The album's name emerged after a riff among the band's members. "'We had a therapeutic talk and put everything on the table,' Lalonde explains. 'We toured too much I think. A lot of stress within our band built up and got blown out of proportion.' They vowed to never let issues go unsaid ever again. To, you know, just say it. 'So Say It has a lot of lyrics about communication and the difficulties of articulating ideas … like I’ve had talking to you this whole time,' Lalonde says. 'That’s our new philosophy, to talk about things before they happen, so we know that we’re on the same page.' [5]

Track history

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [8]
BLARE MagazineStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Consequence of Sound Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Drowned in Sound 8/10 [11]
Exclaim! (positive) [12]
NME 7/10 [13]
The Phoenix Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [14]
Prefix7/10 [15]
Pitchfork Media 3.8/10 [16]
Spin 6/10 [17]
Spinner.com (positive) [18]
TORO Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [19]

Say It received a mixed critical reception, with an aggregated rating of 66/100 on Metacritic. Drowned in Sound stated that it was "much more cohesive than its predecessor" and "a much improved piece of art" compared to Red, Yellow & Blue . [20] However Pitchfork described it as "amateurish" and claimed it sounded "rushed and half-finished". [21]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Oh Man"4:03
2."Retard Canard"4:22
3."Sole Brother"4:25
4."What to Say"4:32
5."The Ballad of Moose Bruce"3:53
6."Higher & Higher"3:33
7."Come Back"3:46
8."Nova-Leigh"4:15
9."Blood, the Sun & Water"2:54
10."At Home Now"2:58

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References

  1. "News - Born Ruffians Unveil New Album, Art; First Impressions of "Say It"". FILTER Magazine. 2010-02-25. Retrieved 2012-03-08.
  2. [ dead link ]
  3. 1 2 "EXCLUSIVE SONG: Born Ruffians Get Soulful". SPIN. Retrieved 2012-03-08.
  4. Archived March 3, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  5. 1 2 "Progress Report: Born Ruffians". Stereogum. Retrieved 2012-03-08.
  6. 1 2 "2:30 Publicity". 230publicity.com. 2010-06-01. Archived from the original on 2012-03-04. Retrieved 2012-03-08.
  7. "Born Ruffians". Daytrotter.com. Retrieved 2013-07-26.
  8. "Allmusic review".
  9. "BLARE Magazine review".
  10. "Consequence of Sound review".
  11. "Drowned in Sound review".
  12. "Exclaim review".
  13. "NME review".
  14. "The Phoenix review".
  15. "Prefix review".
  16. "Pitchfork review".
  17. Kornhaber, Spencer (2010-06-01). "Born Ruffians, 'Say It&#8217 Review". Spin.com. Retrieved 2013-07-26.
  18. "Spinner.com review".
  19. "TORO review".
  20. Born Ruffians: Say It - Review - Drowned In Sound, 28 May 2010
  21. Album Review: Say It - Pitchfork, 1 June 2010