Lo La Ru
2018 studio album by The Rubens
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Lo La Ru (stylised in all caps) is the third studio album by Australian alternative rock group, The Rubens. The album was released on 29 June 2018.
| Lo La Ru | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 29 June 2018 | |||
| Length | 43:24 | |||
| Label | Ivy League | |||
| The Rubens chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Lo La Ru | ||||
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Ruben Elliott Margin told Triple J Lo La Ru is the name of the world that The Rubens built to make this album. "We came up with this idea of creating a fake nation behind this album. Because we'd created our own little world; brought these producers over from New York, had a studio in our hometown, [do] whatever we'd like to do and have fun doing it." They even gave the fictional nation a flag, which became the album's artwork.[3]
In August 2018, the group announced a 12-date national "Lo La Ru" tour, which expanded to a 16-date tour in September. The tour commenced in Brunswick Heads, New South Wales on 2 November.[4][5]
Reception
Madelyn Tait from The Music gave the album 3½ out of 5 saying "Lo La Ru is full of fun, soul-injected rock tracks." She added: "The Rubens expand on and bring the hip hop and R&B elements they touched on in previous releases to the forefront."[6]
Josh Leeson from The Herald gave the album 2½ out of 5 and thought The Rubens "attempted to replicate the appeal of "Hoops" by turning up their R&B and pop influences" but added "at times the album does wallow in lounge music mediocrity." Lesson said the album highlight is "God Forgot".[7]
Tim Byron from The Sydney Morning Herald gave the album 3 out of 5, saying "Lo La Ru's soul-inflected indie rock is pleasantly melodic, often with a good sense of groove, and tastefully recorded. It also feels a little timid, however, as though this is a band trying to please everyone, rather than a band making a stand with fire and authority. All of which means that in six months we'll probably be hearing these songs on ads for cars and health insurance."[8]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Million Man" | The Rubens | 3:12 |
| 2. | "Go On" | The Rubens | 2:44 |
| 3. | "I Know" | The Rubens | 3:52 |
| 4. | "Never Ever" (featuring Sarah) | The Rubens / Sarah Aarons | 3:20 |
| 5. | "Freakout" | The Rubens | 3:23 |
| 6. | "God Forgot" | The Rubens | 3:32 |
| 7. | "Woman Oh Woman" | The Rubens | 3:44 |
| 8. | "Casper" | The Rubens | 3:01 |
| 9. | "SOSO" | The Rubens | 2:33 |
| 10. | "Mary" | The Rubens | 3:13 |
| 11. | "Teeth" | The Rubens | 3:28 |
| 12. | "All My Dollars" | The Rubens | 7:27 |
- Note: "All My Dollars" contains hidden track "Young Me", beginning at 4:14
Personnel
The Rubens
- Sam Margin – lead vocals (all tracks), guitar
- Elliott Margin – keyboards, backing vocals (all tracks), lead vocals (track 1)
- Izaac Margin – lead guitar
- William Zeglis – bass guitar, engineering
- Scott Baldwin – drums
Additional musicians
- Sarah Aarons – guest vocals (track 4)
Charts
Release history
| Region | Date | Format | Edition(s) | Label | Catalogue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 29 June 2018[10][11] | Standard | Ivy League | IVY421 | |
| 20 July 2018[12] | Limited edition LP | Limited | IVY413 |