The Ruby Sea in Bloomington, MN

The Ruby Sea
follows in the progression that most of
Thin White Rope
's albums followed, slowly shedding their more blatantly psychedelic influences and polishing their sound as a surreal and chilling rock band. The record is a cold and dramatic slice of desert rock that manages to be gripping more often than it is simply campy. The band's always-keen sense of guitar dynamics serves them well, as do strangled vocals reminiscent of
Peter Murphy
; some of the album's production unwisely accentuates the band's already-slick presentation, but this is easily overlooked. ~ Nitsuh Abebe