Out on a Spookey limb
Spookey Ruben is Canada’s undisputed musical oddball. From his debut more than a decade ago with the song “These Days Are Old” (with it’s nonsensical “oodle-oop-wee-iy-iy-oh-oo-yeah” refrain) and the cracked genius of the video that accompanied it, he’s been the musical visionary that never quite made it into the mainstream. Despite a high-profile label backing his first several releases he never quite broke into the public conscious in a big way, despite some heady critical praise (one reviewer called his debut album the Pet Sounds of the 90’s).
There is an unbelievable amount of stuff happening on his latest album, Mechanical Royalty, so much so that its hard to say where to begin. Taken as a whole, you could argue that the entire album is a tribute to lost keyboard and synth sounds that have fallen out of vogue in the last twenty years. Ruben and his band have, in fact, been known to pull out a dozen keyboards while performing these songs live. They’re sprinkled so liberally throughout the record that you really only notice when they aren’t playing, as Ruben weaves them so thoroughly into the tapestry of the music that they feel at home despite the fact that some of them sound painfully aged.
Taking a closer look at individual tracks, Ruben seems to be focusing on reclaiming various genres as his own on the majority of these songs. The keys, retro production/instrumentation, female backing vocals, and lyrics of “If You Wanna Know” and “U Don’t Know What You’re Missing” come off like lost Prince b-sides from the 80’s. “Rachel” is straight-up classic pop songwriting, drum machine beats and roboticized backing chants bolstering a bouncy soundscape consisting primarily of acoustic guitar and keys and Ruben’s acrobatic vocals. “American Processed Cheese” wanders into ‘heavy metal’ territory with predictably Velveeta results. “Superpoke” riffs on Facebook and its impact on the social fabric of society, the heavily-synthesized instrumentation coming off just a few keys short of elevator music until a saxaphone solo straight out of Huey Lewis and the News knocks the floor out from under you.
The unmistakable centerpiece is the title track, a guitar-heavy paean to prog-rock mainstays like Rush and Yes, a story about war between an advanced race of robots and the humans that created them that spans seven “chapters” and 15 minutes. It doesn’t seem to offer much if any sub-text that might connect it to the industry term that its title refers to (the cut an artist/songwriter/publisher gets from the sale of a physical/digital piece of music), but serves more as a reminder that despite our proclivity for creating and obsessing over technology mankind can often let it take us over instead. It definitely reaches what seems to me to be the ultimate goal of prog music: showing off the talent of the musicians. Let me tell you, the chops on here are so huge you would think Vince Shlomi had something to do with it.
So what are we left with? A true individual following whatever bizarre muse inspires him, a collection of songs that sound fun even when they’re aren’t necessarily meant to be, and a butt-load of keyboards. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but Ruben has crafted a deft, well-produced, and thoroughly unique set of songs that speak to his quirky nature and inherent ability. Any fan of pop music should find at least a little something to like here.
Spookey Ruben - Rachel [2:56m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Spookey Ruben - If You Wanna Know [3:26m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadCheck out the Ruben-ator’s stuff at Hi-Hat Recordings’ merchandiser’s website or on l’iTunes.
