Halifax-natives Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees don't play the quirky Moldy Peaches-like acoustic indie pop that their name might suggest; nor is there anyone named Ruby Jean in the band. Instead, singer Rebekah Higgs, along with writer/arranger/synth-player Colin Crowell, guitarist Jason Vautour, and drummer Sean MacGillivray, make some funky techno-y club music, because apparently up in Halifax everyone really likes to, uh, get down with it. Who knew? Maybe it's that I first listened to their self-titled debut album half-way through an eight-hour road trip—the Charleston traffic and lack of cigarettes causing me to yell obscenities at the cars around me—or maybe it's that I don't shake my ass without some serious amounts of alcohol in me, but I found the album almost completely unlistenable. At their (rare) best Ruby Jean achieves a kind of interesting Portishead (or even CocoRosie, but without all the weirdness) electro-pop vibe. However, since this really only happens on track four, appropriately titled "The Best of All," that's not really an excuse for me to support your buying of this album. But, hell, what do I know, maybe you all thought Party Monster was a good movie, too.
Recommended situations for listening to Ruby Jean and the Thoughtful Bees: Drunk with your white friends, high on E with your white friends, drunk and high on E with your white friends.
"Danse Danse Resolution"
"Girls I Love"