Loose Presents: The Ruby Suns, Buffalo Bar, Cardiff

Considering The Ruby Suns shoot to fame following their release of the electro-tinged psych-pop third album ‘Fight Softly’, Cardiff’s Buffalo Bar is tragically empty for the Auckland, NZ band’s visit to Cardiff as part of a lengthy European tour - which has already seen the band watched by the super famous Mischa Barton in London the night before. But not even the lack of Cardiff faces, let alone famous ones, can halt lead man Ryan McPhun and touring band mates Alistair Deverick and Graham Panther putting on an enthusiastic and enthralling demonstration of how things should be done. But before The Ruby Suns let their electro-psych-folk loose, Buffalo is subjected to some of Cardiff’s very own up-and-coming folk acts, in the form of Draw Me Stories and Lucky Delucci.

Initial reservations of Draw Me Stories (the band dress like they might sound like a Mumford & Sons tribute band) are blown away well before the band even take to the stage, thanks to some late-in-the-day sound-checking by the three-piece based in Cardiff. They’re a band I hadn’t heard of before, which is something I am now incredibly surprised and frankly disappointed in myself about – Draw Me Stories sound really good! They open - to only two or three in the crowd, initially - with a post-punk leaning indie rock, quickly drawing more people from the bar forward with intrigue. There’s no dip in the performance from the three-piece, rattling off track after track of pretty dark sounding indie rock, before switching to acoustic guitar and serenading the crowd with tracks of a lighter and folk-ier nature. A very good performance from a Cardiff band I am determined to find out more about. And they’re selling their EP (well, one of their EPs) for the same price as the cheapest pint; a bargain at £2.

Lucky Delucci fill the stage like a good sized chocolate muffin, with a whole six members who share even more instruments still – and they’re about as sweet as a double choc chip, too. Through the mediums of flute, keys, drums, bass, guitar melodica (that weird child’s toy looking piano thing that you blow into) and boy-girl harmonies, Lucky Delucci play an indie folk-pop sound – think maybe a slowed down and folk-translated Los Campesinos! or The Coral had they enjoyed more recreational drugs. Not that I’m accusing Lucy Delucci of being users, it’s just how I’d imagine The Coral sounding if they’d smoked some and chilled out. They’re gaining a bit of a reputation around Cardiff and you can understand why – Lucky Delucci are fun, pleasant, and catchy, and are well worth checking out, if you can.

Following a quick pit stop at the opposing Wetherspoon’s to the venue to enjoy the best dining experience Britain has to offer, Ryan McPhun and his band of merry men enter the building - and merry they definitely are, all the way down to the shirt choice. It’s evident that this is no ordinary band – from the flower arrangements around the drum kit to Ryan controlling both the guitar responsibilities and the synthetic side of things, as well as having his very own drum to rattle on mid flow. The band professionally groove their way through five tracks off of the recently released ‘Fight Softly’, every so often pausing to discuss the Welsh language and the home of Doctor Who, with ‘Cranberry’ standing out especially as coming across incredibly well live. Its heavy electro beats, McPhun’s nonsensical high-pitched vocals and the occasional blasts of synth lead brilliantly to the catchy-as-anything chorus that at least one crowd member (… me) found it difficult to not nod and rock along to with enthusiasm. ‘Tane Mahuta’, with its fantastic and abstract vocal harmonies, and ‘Oh Mojave’ make up the only non-‘Fight Softly’ songs of the set, and the latter has had a bass-y makeover to sit more comfortably alongside its more youthful counterparts.

The drums regularly become the focal point of the music at various points in the night with all three members crowding around the kit - and it’s this focus on percussion that keeps the music true to past form; bringing a little of that world feel that is so strongly associated with the band. Although there is a heavy reliance on pre-recording at times (it would have been nice to hear ‘Oh Mojave’ with a live acoustic, for example) it’s understandable why this has to be the case. There’s just so much going on that it makes it impossible for the three men to make the sounds themselves, and the set-up that The Ruby Suns have fixed upon now is a more than adequate compromise. They seem more stable than they have done in the past, and this can only be a positive sign for things to come. This juxtaposition of tribal hits and electro-beats is a beautiful one - especially when combined with McPhun’s unique vocals – and it’s a sound that The Ruby Suns are truly masters of. A very good gig from a very good band.